Wow! My mind is flooded with songs from Broadway musicals, Beethoven's symphonies, the Mozart Requiem, and the Fauré Requiem. But the one piece of music that fills me with memories and awe is the Verdi Requiem. I have sung in choruses from the age of eight. When I was 20, I was a second soprano in the Collegiate Chorale, which had been founded by Robert Shaw. Our music director was Richard Westenburg. On May 1, 1977, we sang the Verdi Requiem at Carnegie Hall. It was beyond magical! When I am in need of inspiration, this is what I listen to. When my mom died in 2011, after her funeral and shiva, I went to my old bedroom from childhood, played my favorite recording, and finally wept.
Your memory of singing the Verdi Requiem brings to mind for me the time I was playing violin in a performance of the Verdi and began tearing up as the music started. A work as overwhelming as it is timeless.
Wow! My mind is flooded with songs from Broadway musicals, Beethoven's symphonies, the Mozart Requiem, and the Fauré Requiem. But the one piece of music that fills me with memories and awe is the Verdi Requiem. I have sung in choruses from the age of eight. When I was 20, I was a second soprano in the Collegiate Chorale, which had been founded by Robert Shaw. Our music director was Richard Westenburg. On May 1, 1977, we sang the Verdi Requiem at Carnegie Hall. It was beyond magical! When I am in need of inspiration, this is what I listen to. When my mom died in 2011, after her funeral and shiva, I went to my old bedroom from childhood, played my favorite recording, and finally wept.
Dear Audrey Roth:
You are truly a kindred spirit.
Your memory of singing the Verdi Requiem brings to mind for me the time I was playing violin in a performance of the Verdi and began tearing up as the music started. A work as overwhelming as it is timeless.
Joshua Berrett