Small wonder that Hector Berlioz’s 1837 Requiem isn’t performed very often: It requires a veritable multitude of singers and players, including a quartet of brass bands set up in the four corners of the concert hall.
But never let it be said that John V. Sinclair, conductor and artistic director of the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, isn’t up for a challenge. He and his talent-laden team will certainly rise to the challenge on Sunday, October 25, at 3 p.m. in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center.
For the Berlioz work, vocals will be handled by a choir of more than 200 headlined by tenor Jonathan Boyd. They’ll be joined by the society’s 90-piece orchestra, which for this extravaganza will have 18 extra brass players situated around the room to achieve the intended immersive effect.
“For perspective, there are usually four or five tympani on stage and we’ll be using 15,” says Sinclair. “In the historic world of oratorio repertoire, this work is always considered one of the most massive undertakings. It isn’t just a concert but an experience.”
And it was certainly a point of pride for Berlioz, a wildly innovative genius of the Romantic period who considered the composition his personal best.
Officially titled Grande Messe des Morts, Op. 5, the work debuted at a December 1837 memorial for French General Charles-Marie Denys de Damrémont and the soldiers under his command who had been killed during the otherwise successful Second Siege of Constantine in Algeria.
Those 19th-century music lovers were the first to be enveloped in startling, immersive passages like the “Tuba mirum,” which simulates the opening of the Gates of Hell on Judgment Day. Sinclair, though, stresses that the Requiem is about more than mere bombast and is rather a landmark study in color and dynamics.
“While known for its earth-shaking loud moments, this work is equally famous for its fragile, quiet passages,” he says, reflecting the views of most critics over the past 189 years or so. “It expanded the boundaries of sound theatricality for classical music.”
And now it’s poised to reinforce the breadth of those boundaries in a new era. So it’s probably a good thing there isn’t a bad seat in the house. Because, like a comet, this once-in-a-lifetime experience might not be coming back anytime soon.
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call or visit the website.
