Gli Angeli Genève

Stephan MacLeod bass and conductor
Marie Lys soprano
Marianne Beate Kielland alto
Matthew Newlin tenor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Requiem
Michael Haydn
Missa sub titulo sancti Francisci Seraphici

Mozart’s Requiem is the most famous unfinished work in history. The power of the thin sketch of this Requiem, drawn up at the same time as the Clarinet Concerto, and the talent of Miloš Forman have forever fixed the image of a Mozart who died far too young and too miserable. In the tragedy of his early death, in the scandal represented by the death of the most gifted, the most flamboyant, perhaps the most inspired of all composers, lies the magic of this universal prayer and the hope it conveys. One of the models for this work was probably the Requiem in C minor by Michael Haydn, Joseph’s brother. Mozart was only 15 when it was premiered in Salzburg, but he was playing in the orchestra that day. The younger Haydn may not have left as strong a mark on history as his brother Joseph, but when Mozart was growing up in Salzburg he admired both of them equally. And the Mass we are inviting you to discover at this concert will show you why.
We are delighted to welcome back Marie Lys, a soprano from the canton of Vaud, for this final concert of the season. Gli Angeli Genève is also an ensemble rooted in its region, bringing together on stage the vital forces of its region, in addition to the other stars of early music that we regularly invite to Geneva.