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Verdi's Requiem at McEwan Hall

(originally published by The Student)
     Where the theatricality of opera and the sobriety of religion meet, we find Verdi’s Requiem - a huge undertaking and a powerful piece of music for the Edinburgh University Music Society to perform, and one which merits a similarly huge and impressive back-drop. With four soloists, a double choir and full orchestra, McEwan Hall is filled almost to the brim with our suited-and-booted players, and the effect is not only visually impressive but orally overwhelming. Sound billowing out into the space with which the orchestra is so clearly familiar; awesome surges of power and piercing solos made possible by an acute knowledge of their surroundings.
     By turns moody and monstrous, the Requiem was written in memory of one of Verdi’s contemporaries, and was performed repeatedly by captives during the Second World War. With its roots in the Catholic Mass ceremony and its turns through mourning and peace towards joy and biblical wrath, it’s easy to see why. A work so huge, of course, demands a huge group of performers, and with just a few short weeks of practice, EUMS have brought together over two hundred people for this rendition, from those completely new to the University to returning students and alumni. The Chorus and Symphony Orchestra are far from strangers to one another, and their experience in rallying per- formers for a piece of this scale is evident- we are told that the 170-strong Chorus brought together the entire piece in just eight rehearsals, and constraints on the Symphony Orchestra placed a similar demand on them.
     Four experienced voices flesh out operatic solos and bring a heartfelt edge to slower movements in the piece. A particular air of peace and calm is picked out by Wilma MacDougall’s soprano and Heather Boyd’s mezzo soprano, whose voices twine wonderfully together in these quieter sections, though they are nearly drowned out in more dramatic movements. Adam Magee’s tenor and Peter Thomson’s bass solos are similarly well matched, both with each other and with the tone of the strings. Overall, an impressive melee of sound brings life and drama to the piece.
     A real highlight is the repeated Dies Irae, whose original verses tell of the Day of Wrath of an angry God, and can sometimes be spotted in particularly dramatic adverts. This will be recognised by most, but hearing the movement erupting from a live orchestra is another experience entirely. At certain points, we are convinced the ground is about to open up and draw the string section into the belly of hell itself, and at others, a wonderful tension is built by repeated phrases that could so easily transform into this explosive turning point of the piece.
     Russell Cowieson’s well-versed conducting helps build and maintain this tension, with very little time lost between movements and very little energy wasted in re-shuffling players. A mixture of levels of experience within EUMS, from old hands to new faces, means expertise can guide new talents, and huge amounts of energy can encourage more mature musicians. Chorus-master Neil Metcalfe gives a similar air of guidance from a little further afield, and if his beaming smile at the end of the final movement is anything to go by, he is more than pleased with this enormous choral work.
     As well as car adverts, Verdi’s works have been adopted by freedom fighters and Universities, and their power and influence stretch from the 19th century into the present day. As the last notes of EUMS’ first concert of the academic year fade away, an applause that has been waiting for an hour and a half bursts from our hands. Audiences more used to different kinds of music will have felt it a crime not to reward every movement in just the same way- whether the terrifying Dies Irae or the joyous Sanctum, there were moments between movements when we needed a little time to catch our breath. Following this more formal Winter Concert, the Symphony Orchestra will play a more festive Christmas Concert later in the month, before a well-earned break in proceedings, and preparation towards Spring concerts in early 2014. The Chorus and Sinfonia have a similar line-up in the coming months, full of concerts which promise to sell out fast and dominate any orchestral calendar for the rest of the academic year.

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