St Albans Choral Society: Mozart Requiem Date: Saturday 22 April 2023 Time: 7.30pm Edward Elgar Serenade in E minor for string orchestra, Op 20 W A Mozart Misericordias Domini, K222 Adrian Williams The Innocent Fields (world premiere) W A Mozart Requiem in D minor, K626 Daisy Brown, soprano Susan Legg, mezzo-soprano Bradley Smith, tenor Julien Van Mellaerts, baritone St Albans Choral Society Orchestra Nova George Vass, conductor Founded in December 1944, St Albans Choral Society is one of the leading amateur choruses performing in Hertfordshire, singing to a high standard at concert venues in and around the city. For their annual performance at St Albans Abbey, the choir is joined by a stellar quartet of soloists and accompanied by Orchestra Nova, an outstanding group of young professionals well known for their Festival appearances throughout the UK and for their growing catalogue of CD releases. Mozart’s Requiem, one of choral music’s most towering legacies, forms the centrepiece of the programme. The Requiem remained incomplete at Mozart’s death and in order for his widow, Constanze, to claim the commission fee for the work, she requested the great composer’s pupil, Franz Süssmayr, to complete it. The Requiem then had to wait two years for its premiere on 2 January 1793, in Vienna. Hertfordshire-born composer Adrian Williams is represented with the world premiere of his deeply moving new work, ‘The Innocent Fields’, a co-commission between St Albans Choral Society and the Presteigne Festival. ‘The Innocent Fields’ is a stunning setting for baritone soloist, chorus and string orchestra of words from ‘The Hours’, a beautiful collection of nature poetry by Gillian Clarke, National Poet of Wales (2008-2016). Elgar’s ever-popular Serenade for string orchestra opens the concert and is followed by Mozart’s early, but wonderfully-crafted motet Misericordias Domini, completed in 1775, 16 years before the Requiem. Tickets: Premium £30 - Centre front with full view Classic £24 - Centre middle with full view Standard plus £18 - Centre back with full view Standard £12 - Centre back with full view No view £5 - Mainly located in the aisles or behind pillars. These seats have no view of the stage. Concessions: Children under 18 £5, Students with ID £5, Companions go free. Doors will open 30 minutes before concert starts. There is an interval of 20 minutes during this performance.