Classically Speaking

The final day of FestivALL was intensely, overwhelmingly hot. That Sunday afternoon, as thunder rolled through the valley, a group of singers gathered at Christ Church United Methodist in Charleston to sing Mozart's Requiem. 

Some had rehearsed and performed this music before; others of us were just reading along and trying it out.

First, David Castleberry introduced the Requiem and its history, clearing many of the misconceptions that started with Mozart's wife Constanze and have been perpetuated by other musicians and writers, and carried even further by the play and the movie Amadeus.  And then, we sang.

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Do you know of similar events in other cities? I had a lot of fun participating, and I wonder what we're going to sing next summer!

Thank you to Chris "Brewhead" Morris of Music In Motion Promotions for sharing these photos from FestivALL.

Previously: 

* FestivALL Summer Sing! by Carole Carter

Last week during FestivALL, I had the opportunity to hear some amazing classical musicians with ties to West Virginia, some originally from the state and others who live and/or work here now.

Some of them, I’ve spoken with before – pianist/composer Evan Mack, clarinetist/conductor Robert Turizziani, and conductor/composer Grant Cooper.  I met several others for the first time,

and I'm looking forward to sharing their music through West Virginia Public Radio, getting to know them better, and featuring them here on Classically Speaking.

These new acquaintances include flutist Lindsey Goodman, soprano Elisabeth Baer, and clarinetists Jeanne Frieben and John Weigand. 

They all participated in the “Moveable Feast” concert series during FestivALL.

Yesterday, FestivALL concluded with another fun event connected to classical music – the Mozart Requiem Summer Sing.  I joined in the alto section, where I had a lot of fun singing and managed not to get too lost!  I’ll hopefully have some photos from that event to post for you here soon. 

How’s your summer been so far?