The Hastings Philharmonic Season is reaching a climax for the Choir on the 5 May, when the Choir and Orchestra join with the Kosovo Philharmonic Choir to raise the ceiling  at the White Rock Theatre with a momentous performance of the Verdi Requiem. On the occasion of the Choir’s 90th Anniversary, nothing but the best performance of one of the greatest choral pieces would be good enough! The concert includes four soloists of international stature.

The Verdi Requiem was written for a double choir, and what could be better than to create that special dynamic by joining two great choirs together for the occasion? The sound of more than 150 musicians on stage will be a moving experience. Marcio da Silva, the music Director of Hastings Philharmonic, has been travelling to Kosovo for several years now and he has had the honour of working with the Kosovo Philharmonic to produce beautiful music. This year Kosovo celebrates its 10th anniversary as a state, so it made sense for our two choirs to celebrate together.   The Kosovo choir often performs at services at the Mother Teresa Cathedral in Prishtina’s city centre, but, like Kosovo itself, the choir is religiously mixed. Kosovo is mainly muslim, albeit in a liberal and tolerant way, while the rest of the population is either Catholic or Serb Orthodox. Music is now recognised as a unifying force for the different Kosovan cultures and therefore promoted.

Although Verdi was better known for his operatic works and his sacred music works are fewer in number, the Verdi Requiem won immediate acclaim and joined the repertoire of works that any serious choir must include. It is noted for the way it combines religiosity with the drama that is recognisable in Verdi opera. The rage and terror that is the ‘dies irae’ (days of wrath) is counterbalanced by the dignified tears of the lachrimosa. The music runs the full gamut of emotions, sadness and joy, simplicity and majesty, reflection and apocalypse. Those of us who experienced the brilliance of the Hastings Philharmonic brass section in the recent Tchaikovsky 5th Symphony  concert can only be thrilled at the prospect of how the brass will proclaim a ‘call to judgement’ in the Verdi Requiem.

The Hastings Philharmonic Choir is delighted to have this wonderful opportunity to sing the Verdi Requiem, as the piece marks an important milestone in the Choir’s history. It gives us an opportunity to remember our pre-eminent music director, Edmund Niblett, during whose tenure the Choir had opportunities to sing with great orchestras,  and famous conductors, not least, Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Reginald Jacques. Above all Niblett facilitated the longer standing relationship with Sir Adrian Boult which started  in 1954 and lasted beyond Edmund Niblett’s unfortunate demise in 1964, while rehearsing the Verdi Requiem. It was Boult who took up the baton for the Verdi Requiem finally in 1967 with the Hastings Philharmonic and the Jacques Orchestra. Sir Adrian Boult remained honorary president of the Choir until he passed away in 1983.

The famous conductor, George Weldon, recommended this wonderful piece to the Hastings Philharmonic in 1957, but it was 1964 before the Choir introduced it for serious rehearsal and 1967 before it was finally performed. Since then the Hastings Philharmonic  performed it once  more in the 1990s with the Ryesingers and the Cranbrook Choral Society. Such a rare opportunity and such a beautiful combination of choir and orchestra comes once in a blue moon;  this is not to be missed!

Christopher Cormack