MUCS Concert May 12

Melbourne University Choral Society presents

Mozart - Regina Coeli K. 276
Mozart - Missa Solemnis K. 337
Haydn - Te Deum
Fauré - Requiem

SATURDAY 12 MAY 2007 at 8pm

WESLEY UNITING CHURCH
148 LONSDALE STREET, MELBOURNE

Conducted by Andrew Wailes and Matthew Toogood featuring Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra Jonathan Bradley (organ) and outstanding soloists

In March 1780, the great Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his last Mass for the Salzburg court, the rarely performed Missa Solemnis in C Major K. 337. Richly scored for a grand occasion, and featuring numerous effects unusual for such a work at the time, the Missa Solemnis is a fine example of Mozart's independent-minded spirit and musical inventiveness. Two decades later, in 1800 Franz Joseph Haydn composed his magnificent Te Deum (also in C Major) for Empress Marie Therese, the second wife of Emperor Franz II. The work was first performed to coincide with a visit by Lord Nelson and is as bold as it is dramatic. From the jubilant unison chant that opens the work to the exhilarating fugue and the blaze of the final bars, the Te Deum stands as a beacon of light in the choral repertory. Throughout its six elegant movements, Fauré's highly expressive setting is widely hailed as one of the greatest choral masterpieces of the modern era, much loved for its melodic beauty and emotional power.