Victoria Choral Society Celebrates 90 Years!

The Victoria Choral Society, under Music Director Brian Wismath, is delighted to present Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem, Laudate Dominum, and Ave Verum Corpus at Christ Church Cathedral at 2:30 pm on Sunday, November 16, 2024. Please join us in celebrating this significant milestone!

Tickets are available online starting October 1st at https://www.victoriachoralsociety.ca/concerts/ or at the door: General Admission $35 and Student / Income Accessible $10.

This glorious program features a 150-member choir accompanied by an orchestra of musicians from the Victoria Symphony, as well as local soloists Jennifer Turner (soprano), Jennifer Lang (mezzo), Jan van der Hooft (tenor), and Nathan McDonald (baritone).

Unfinished at the time of Mozart’s death in 1791, “[…] the Requiem Mass for the Dead, arguably the most potent and all-embracing of the Church’s liturgical rites, encompasses the whole range of human emotion from terror and awe to confidence that the dead can indeed depart in peace. Mozart’s music takes us deep into the human condition with pleas to be heard and comforted (Voca me), pleas for healing (Salva me), finding the still centre in the rest (Requiem) at the end of tears (Lacrimosa) [...]” – Elizabeth Courtney VCS Alumna

The Laudate Dominum from Mozart’s 1780 opera, “Vesperae solennes de Confessore K. 339,” is one of his masterpieces. Set as an extended aria, its radiantly poised melody of long, luxurious lines for solo soprano, answered and supported by the chorus, breathes an inward spiritual air.

Ave Verum Corpus was composed in 1791, six months before Mozart’s death. This short motet of 46 measures is a choral gem recognized for its beauty and simplicity. The text, a 14th century Eucharistic hymn, contemplates suffering and redemption while elements of the composition foreshadow Mozart’s magnificent Requiem.

About the Victoria Choral Society

The Victoria Choral society, founded in 1934, is a mixed-voice auditioned symphonic choir dedicated to presenting the finest choral music from baroque to contemporary achieving excellence through innovation and collaboration. It continues to play a leading role in Victoria’s cultural life.

Host or Publisher Victoria Choral Society