Dramatic Requiem, Spiritual Symphony on Tap for UA Orchestra Concert

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Conducting Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Requiem” presents a tremendous challenge for Dr. John Ratledge, University of Alabama professor of music and director of choral activities.

The composer’s famed perfection – his ability to write his music completely in his head and then write it down without correction – is intimidating and inspiring.

“I can’t imagine writing down what’s in one’s head without making corrections. I think Mozart’s music is the hardest to perform,” said Ratledge, who will conduct Mozart’s “Requiem” on Friday, April 22, at UA. “I don’t care what medium it is – whether it’s a piano sonata or a quintet or a symphony, because it’s so perfect in itself, in its conception, in the music’s transmission to the page. It’s very difficult. I think he is one of the hardest composers to perform. There’s not a note that’s out of place. Everything is needed. Everything has purpose.”

UA’s Huxford Symphony Orchestra, part of the School of Music, will perform the “Requiem” along with the University Singers and University Chorus, both conducted by Ratledge. University Chorus was prepared by Marvin Latimer, assistant professor of music education.

Also on the program is the Huxford Symphony’s performance of Symphony No. 3 by contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, conducted by Demondrae Thurman, associate professor of euphonium and tuba.The performance, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of the Moody Music Building, is free and open to the public.

Mozart’s “Requiem” follows the traditional order of the Latin Requiem Mass. The striking “Dies Irae” portion of the “Requiem” will be familiar to the public because of its wide use as dramatic background music.

“The ‘Requiem’ text ends with ‘Grant them peace,’ but you have to go through fire and hell to get there,” Ratledge said.

The “Requiem” was one of Mozart’s last works and was performed after his death in 1793. Count Walsegg-Suppach secretly commissioned the work in 1791 so he could present it as his own composition. One of the great mysteries of music history is how much of the “Requiem” Mozart wrote and how much was completed by friends or colleagues after Mozart died. Experts say he had completed most of at least three parts of the work and left sketches for other areas – enough to give a trial run for his friends.

“What fascinates me is that before Mozart died he brought four of his friends together, and they sang through the choral parts that he had written, and he sang alto,” Ratledge said. “He died soon thereafter. Mozart told his wife that he would do the traditional practice – bring the fugue back at the end. The opening motif of the work comes back at the end.”

Soloists for the Requiem are Kathleen Buccleugh, soprano; Mabs Nolen, alto; James Seay, tenor; and Bryant Bush and Marcus Miller, baritones.

The Pärt symphony, which dates to 1971, reflects the composer’s spiritual and compositional journey into the Orthodox Church and more traditional musical styles. The symphony shows off Pärt’s growing interest in traditional motets and Orthodox chants.

“The April 22 concert provided three interesting challenges,” Thurman said. “I had to find a piece that wouldn’t sound silly next to the Mozart “Requiem”; it had to use the full symphony orchestra; and I needed to have a religious or at the very least, spiritual component.

“I’ve been a fan of Argo Pärt for quite some time, and I felt strongly that he would have a piece that met all the challenges. I could only imagine that after writing in a style that didn’t suit him for so long, Pärt would have poured his heart and soul into this, his first composition with passion as the cornerstone. The orchestra is certainly interpreting it as such.”

As the premier orchestra of Alabama’s flagship University, The Huxford Symphony Orchestra of The University of Alabama was named in honor of Camilla Huxford after her generous gift in support of the orchestra.

This prestigious ensemble is devoted to studying and performing the finest of the orchestral masterworks. The 75-member ensemble, under Music Director and Conductor,Carlton McCreery, has collaborated with such world-renowned artists as Charles Vernon of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Joseph Silverstein of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, actor James Earl Jones and Daniel Bernard Roumain.

The members of the orchestra come to study at Alabama from around the globe.The roster includes musicians from Birmingham to Minneapolis, Los Angeles to Boston, from Albania to China.Through their outstanding preparation at UA, the Huxford Symphony Orchestra alumni perform with prestigious orchestras and teach at universities and music festivals throughout the country.

The School of Music is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.