SAVE THE DATE: April 14
Brahms’ Requiem
WHAT:
The Amabilis Singers present Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem on Saturday, April 14 at 8 p.m.
WHERE:
New Westminster Christian Reformed Church, 8255 13th Ave. (between First and Newcombe), Burnaby.
WHO’S PERFORMING?
The Amabilis Singers are a 65-voice community choir, directed by Burnaby’s Ramona Luengen. The singers will be joined by soloists Jennifer Driscoll-Holmes, soprano, and George Roberts, baritone.
They’re performing the two-piano version of the work, featuring pianists Ingrid Verseveldt and Jane Coop. Coop, one of Canada's most prominent pianists, has had a successful international career that has taken her to perform in top concert halls and with noted musicians and ensembles around the world.
WHAT’S SPECIAL ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE?
Local audiences will have a chance to hear one of the great choral masterpieces of all time.
“Brahms’ own reworking of the score for piano four-hands is not merely an arrangement of the orchestral parts, but a transformation which allows for an unsurpassed degree of intimacy, precision and contrapuntal clarity,” says a write-up about the event.
Brahms’ Requiem is unique in that, unlike traditional requiem masses, it does not take its text from the Roman Catholic Latin liturgy. Instead, it draws passages from the German Luther Bible, and it focuses on the living rather than the dead in its opening movement, “Blessed are they that mourn.”
Ein deutsches Requiem is described as “a bold, original and moving testament to both humanism as well as to faith.”
WHO IS WELCOME?
Everyone. Note that there are no child-priced tickets, and that the work (which is approximately 70 minutes long) will be sung without intermission.
TICKETS:
All seats are $25. Tickets available from choir members, or call 604-897-7258 to reserve. (Note that the concert is expected to sell out, so be sure to reserve ahead.)
See www.amabilissingers.org for more information.
