The second concert of the Brighton Philharmonic’s season at Brighton Dome takes place on Sunday 6th November when the orchestra is joined by regular collaborators Brighton Festival Chorus conducted by their Music Director James Morgan, with guest soloists Sarah Tynan (Soprano) and Leigh Melrose (Baritone). They will be performing a programme of music by Brahms – his longest choral work Ein Deutches Requiem (A German Requiem) and by way of contrast, his shortest Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny).
Conductor and BFC Music Director James Morgan is looking forward to the concert and has a warning for audience members: “I’m delighted that the Festival Chorus and BPO will once again join forces in such a special programme. Schicksalslied is a miniature masterpiece; this is one concert you don’t want to arrive late for, as the first minute of music is particularly sublime! Then there is the Requiem – such a well-loved piece and a key work of the choral repertoire. We are very much looking forward to it, and to welcoming our soloists Sarah Tynan and Leigh Melrose.”
The concert opens with Schicksalslied, sometimes referred to as the “Little Requiem”, Brahms’ most ambitious choral composition considered to be one of his finest choral works; it took him three years to compose and is based on a poem by Friedrich Hölderlin about man’s sense of alienation within the cosmos.
The seven movements of Brahms’ epic German Requiem were written between 1865 and 1868 following the death of his mother, and in writing them Brahms was also highly influenced by the earlier death of his great friend Robert Schumann following a suicide attempt and incarceration in a mental asylum. The Requiem is based on words from the German Lutheran Bible rather than the more usual Latin text, which Brahms put together himself, wanting it to be a Requiem for the living, not the dead. The central message of the Requiem appears in its first lines “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” and “Blessed” is also the last word we hear in the final movement.
The Requiem’s first performance in 1868, with Brahms himself conducting, was a huge success and marked a turning point in his career, giving him the confidence to complete many unfinished projects that had tantalised him for years.
Tickets (from £12-37) are available from Brighton Dome Ticket Office in person, by telephone (01273) 709709 and online: www.brightondome.org. There is a 50% discount for students and under 18s and a Family ticket allows up to two children at £1 each when accompanied by a full-price adult ticket holder.
Those travelling by car can take advantage of the BPO’s special discounted parking rate of £6 between 1pm & 6pm in the NCP Church Street car park. Just collect a follow-on voucher from the Dome at the concert.