Verdi Messa da Requiem – 2016

Verdi: Messa da Requiem
Charity: Oxfordshire Headway
Venue: Oxford Town Hall
Date: February 6th 2016
Soloists:
Hye-Youn Lee (Soprano)
Olivia Ray (Mezzo-soprano)
Lawrence Thackeray (Tenor)
David Ireland (Bass)

Here are some feedback comments from participants in the 2016 Verdi Requiem

Thank you so much for the Verdi– I’ve never enjoyed singing it so much. The soloists were fantastic (especially the women)and Robert Dean a powerful magician.. It was a privilege to take part and my audience friends were moved by the power and commitment.

Congratulations on pulling off another remarkable concert this evening.  It was a great success, and obviously hugely enjoyed by performers and the audience alike.  The sound level at the back of the stalls was stunning and the quality of the performance so high.  The chorus came over fantastically well,  including that tiny handful of tenors who did brilliantly at projecting their line.   I was especially taken by the voice of the bass – he’s a really terrific singer – and that of the mezzo too – and the orchestra did wonders as well

To sing in a concert with ONLY ONE DAY OF PRACTICE?   madness!  and to bring together an orchestra of 58 splendid musicians, and a choir so enormous that half had to sit in the balcony….with enough tympani and trumpets to sound completely authentic on the Day of Judgment….with a Director so strong and terrifying who could definitely fill the Albert Hall without any supporting amplification whatsoever….who could inspire us to produce sounds undreamed of in a previous existence…

My grandchildren, untutored in any music whatsoever, in their mid-twenties,  were profoundly shaken and stirred!

It was a wonderful and memorable concert. And a fantastic achievement. Enjoyed hugely by both chorus and audience, and I hope orchestra, soloists and conductor, who were amazing.