BRUNSWICK

The Oratorio Chorale, together with the Bowdoin College Chorus, performed the Mozart Requiem on November 22 and 23 at the Studzinski Recital Hall at Bowdoin College. They were accompanied by the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra, the Bowdoin College Orchestra, the Mozart Mentors Orchestra, and the Maine Chamber Ensemble. Four soloists, from the ensemble Roomful of Teeth, performed as well.

All together, 150 musicians performed the Mass, which is shrouded in mystery, under the baton of Emily Isaacson.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived only until he was 35, but in that short life, he changed musical history for all time. By the time of his death, he had 30 years of a very active musical life. During his lifetime, he wrote 626 pieces of music that historians know of, although occasionally an unknown score turns up that appears to be a Mozart piece. Some of these are currently being examined by musical historians, even today, with the hope of adding them to his list of works. Though this number seems phenomenal, other composers wrote similar or even greater numbers of works over their lifetimes, although they had longer working lives in which to do so. Johannes Sebastian Bach, for instance, wrote about 1,120 compositions during his long career.

The piece he was working on when he died, appropriately enough, was his Requiem, K.626. A Requiem is a Mass for the dead.

In July of 1791, an unknown man gave Mozart a commission to write the Requiem Mass. The man did not reveal his name or the name of his patron, although Mozart likely knew the name of his patron — Count Franz van Walsegg of Stuppach, who wanted the piece to honor his late wife.

By November, however, Mozart was desperately ill, likely with rheumatic fever, and the Requiem was still unfinished. In the middle of writing the Lacrimosa section, where the Latin text begins “On that day full of tears, when from the ashes arises guilty man, to be judged:”, Mozart died, on December 6, leaving half the Mass undone.

Ultimately, his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who had taken some of the dictation, completed the work and it was delivered to Walsegg. But Mozart’s widow, Constanze, made and kept a copy of the piece, which was used in a benefit performance for her family in 1793.

The Mass is by turns comforting and terrifying, as the object is not only to comfort the bereaved family, but also to scare still-living people into spiritual contrition. In the “Dies Irae, Dies Illa” section, the massive choir warns of the judgment day to come:

“Day of wrath, that day shall dissolve the world in ashes, as foretold by David and the Sibyl.

What trembling there will be when the Judge shall come to weigh man’s deeds strictly!”

However, the soloists hold out hope that Jesus will rescue the faithful dead. In “Recordare, Jesu Pie”, the music changes abruptly from the terrifying “Dies Irae” to a softer, more beckoning tone:

“Remember, gentle Jesus, that I am the reason for Thy time on earth, do not cast me out on that day…

Thou hast redeemed me by dying on the cross, such travail must not be in vain.”

The wall of sound in small Studzinski Recital Hall was awesome in the most literal sense of the word, especially the combined Oratorio Chorale and the Bowdoin College Chorus, which is made up of students, alumni, and faculty and staff members. The four soloists, members of the experimental vocal octet “Roomful of Teeth” included soprano Esteli Gomez, Virginia Warnken, mezzosoprano/ alto, Eric Dudley, tenor, and Dashon Burton, bass-baritone.

William Sheppard, of the class of ‘18 at Bowdoin and Bowdoin Orchestra, performed a trombone solo during the “Tuba mirum spargems sonum” (The trumpet, scattering its awful sound).

All of the soloists, vocal and instrumental, were top flight performers.

This, Emily Isaacson’s second season, appears to be as glittering as the first. Isaacson seems adept at forging new relationships to bring established and emerging talent together in one space. The Mozart Requiem is a case in point, but Isaacson has other surprises up her sleeve for the season to come.

Sing We Noel, which will be held for two performances on Saturday, December 20, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brunswick, will feature The Norumbega Brass, a quintet, along with John Corrie as organist.

Mary Sullivan, soprano, will perform a recital of German lieder on January 17 at 7:30 p.m. That performance will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick. Sullivan is artist in residence with the Oratorio Chorale for this season. She will be accompanied by Derek Herzer on piano.

The weekend of February 28-March 1, the Chorale will perform the J.S. Bach Magnificat, along with sections of the Double Violin Concerto and Concerto for Violin and Oboe, in an all-Bach performance. The Chorale will partner with the Maine Chamber ensemble and soloists who are members of the Handel and Haydn Society out of Boston.

And finally, the Chorale will explore voice and percussion in a concert June 5 and 6, with Nate Tucker and Jonathan Hess on percussion.

Tickets are available for the whole season or for individual performances by visiting the Oratoriowebsite at www.oratoriochorale.org.