Mozart’s Requiem: A Tapestry
APOLLO'S FIRE & Apollo's Singers
Jeannette Sorrell, conducting
Sonya Headlam, soprano | Guadalupe Paz, mezzo-soprano
Jacob Perry, tenor | Kevin Deas, bass-baritone
Apollo’s Fire is proud to premiere a bold new program reflecting on the vibrant tapestry of American culture. In A Mozart’s Requiem: A Tapestry, Artistic Director Jeannette Sorrell interweaves the movements of Mozart’s great but unfinished Requiem with related spiritual works by three living Black American composers – important voices in our cultural landscape.
The program includes selections from Damien Geter’s acclaimed African American Requiem (2019), Jessie Montgomery’s Five Freedom Songs (2020), and the world premiere of Eric Gould’s 1791: Requiem for the Ancestors(2025), commissioned by Apollo’s Fire.
THE CONCEPT: As he lay dying at the age of 36, Mozart composed his most beloved masterpiece, the Requiem – leaving it incomplete. His student Franz Süssmayr attempted to complete the missing movements to collect the promised commission fee; however, Süssmayr’s completion has generally been considered unsatisfactory by most musicians and scholars. The Requiem movements that Mozart completed amount to only 40 minutes. Mozart’s exquisitely beautiful “Lacrimosa” trails off after only 8 bars. He didn’t compose the Sanctus at all.
Jeannette Sorrell says, “As I pondered how to honor the legacy of Mozart’s unfinished Requiem, I found myself reflecting on voices that were silenced or overshadowed by the culture of that time. These voices speak to us profoundly today, as the world teeters on a precipice in so many ways. So, to complete the Requiem, I chose eight movements from sacred-inspired works by living Black composers. In this way, we pay homage to Mozart by honoring the humanity within us all.”
A Requiem Tapestry is intended to bring together neighbors from different walks of life in a spiritual journey that is ultimately joyful. Says Sorrell, “When our great bass-baritone Kevin Deas so powerfully evokes a prophet or preacher as he comes forward to sing Mozart’s Tuba Mirum, I know that the meaning of Mozart’s text will touch us all: ‘The trumpet will send its wondrous sound throughout earth's sepulchres and gather all of us before the throne of God.’ – All of us. We’re in this journey together.”
MORE ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND ARTISTS:
The unfinished and/or missing movements of Mozart’s Requiem include the Lacrimosa, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. Jeannette Sorrell replaces these missing/unfinished movements with the related movements from Damien Geter’s African American Requiem. Geter’s stunning “Lacrimosa” expresses grief for innocent Black Americans who have been killed; his “Sanctus” is a joyful, rhythmic Kum ba yah; and his Agnus Dei conjures the soulful congregational singing of the Black church community.
Additional movements woven into the tapestry include Eric Gould’s “Phillis’ Song,” set to poetry by the enslaved Black poet Phillis Wheatley (1753-1784), who was 19 years old when she penned these verses. Her words will be sung in these concerts by AF Young Artist Apprentice Elora Kares. Gould’s “A Mother’s Pain” gives voice to the experiences of 18th-century Black women who suffered great personal violation at the hands of enslavers.
Lastly, Jessie Montgomery’s soulful settings of three spirituals celebrate resilience, hope and joy: I Want to Go Home; My Father, How Long?; and Day of Judgment.
Conducted by Jeannette Sorrell, the program features acclaimed soloists soprano Sonya Headlam, mezzo Guadalupe Paz, tenor Jacob Perry, and bass-baritone Kevin Deas, as well as AF’s Young Artist Fellow Elora Kares. Apollo’s Singers, the professional chorus of Apollo’s Fire, join the period-instrument orchestra in this poignant and ultimately uplifting 2-hour journey.