The Dartmouth College Glee Club perfomed Mozart's "Requiem" this weekend to a captivated audience at Spaulding Auditorium marking yet another dazzling and powerful performance by the talented ensemble.
Performing a capella favorites and selections from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626," the Glee Club under the direction of Louis Burkot, added yet another gem to this season's crown of achievements.
Featuring selections from their spring tour repertory, the Glee Club began their program by performing "Beati Quorum Via" by Charles Villiers Stanford, "O Vos Omnes" by Pablo Casals, "The Coolin" by Samuel Barber, and "O Heiland Reiss" by Johannes Brahms.
The selections in the prelude were a capella compositions which demonstrated the range and versatility of the choir. Most notable were the voices in the higher registers, the sopranos and mezzo-sopranos.
After a brief intermission, The Glee Club began their main program featuring selections from "Requiem Mass in D minor" a piece unfinished by Mozart.
Born in Salzburg, Austria on Jan. 27, 1756, Mozart was probably one of the greatest composers and musical genuises of all time. Beginning composing minuets at the age of 5, Mozart composed his first symphony at the age of 9.
In 1791, Mozart was commissioned to write the requiem. Always in ill health, Mozart was unable to finish the work and later died on Dec. 5, 1791.
Performing with the Hanover Chamber Orchestra, the Glee Club incorporated some of the mystique that surrounds Mozart's final work, the Requiem. The eerie dissonance, strange chords, and polyphonic orchestration only added to their brilliant performance.
According to history, a mysterious stranger who refused to reveal his identity delivered the commission for the work to Mozart just six months before the composer's death. Mozart supposedly believed the messenger was a harbinger for his death and the requiem was to be written for his own inevitable fate.
Accompanying the Glee Club was soprano Joan Eubank, mezzo-soprano Daphne Alderson, tenor Torrance Blaisdell '90 and bass Joel Jameson.
Eubank, a 1994 Young Artist with Opera North in the role of Violetta in "La Traviata," received her Bachelor of Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts. She has also been featured in such works as "The Magic Flute" and as Gretel in "Hansel and Gretel."
Alderson has performed throughout the world and has toured with such distinguished troupes like Opera Music Theater International, Pittsburgh Opera Center, and Pittsburgh Opera Theater.
Blasidell, a Dartmouth graduate was himself a member and soloist with the Dartmouth Glee Club. He currently has upcoming roles with the New Jersey State Repertory Opera and the Young Artist Program of the Des Moines Metro Festival of Opera.
Jameson has performed in such works as "Don Giovanni" and "Don Carlo." A member of with Long Island Opera, Jameson most recently played Sparafucile in Verdi's "Rigoletto."
Providing music during transitional vignettes, the four guest soloists often sung together, harmoniously blending their unique parts jointly for a very effective and memorable performance.
With Burkot's silent control, the ensemble usually overpowered the orchestra with their strong and effective voices.
The Glee Club rendition of this classical favorite only served to highlight and accent this highly flexible and impressive group. An exemplary production, "Requiem" was as engaging as it was powerful.
