Star-Ledger reviews Mozart’s Requiem
The Star-Ledger’s Ronni Reich writes:
In Mozart’s Requiem, the composer reverently depicts earthly suffering and supplication, as well as the formidable Judgment Day, and sublime mercy. All the while, his singular gift for melody and impeccable contrapuntal writing set the work apart from others using the same sacred text.
At the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark on Thursday, music director Jacques Lacombe led the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in one of just four performances of the work in the symphony’s history. The concert was a local collaboration with the Montclair State University Singers, a 60-member ensemble of graduate and undergraduate students directed by Heather J. Buchanan.
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Orchestra and chorus brought urgency and gravitas to the opening, with clarity in the “Kyrie eleison” fugue and drama in the protracted, timpani-fueled conclusion leading into the explosive “Dies Irae.”
Taut, purposeful strings in the “Rex tremendae” contrasted a wonderfully delicate “Salva me” from the chorus. The musicians brought ample energy and then ethereal tone to the “Confutatis.”
Lacombe opened the “Lacrymosa” — one of the most stunning melodic selections — at a flowing tempo that sparked anticipation. The orchestra gave a poignant rendering of its sobbing accompaniment. The whirl and jab of the “Domine Jesu” also had a stirring effect.