Filling in the gaps

Joyce Scherer

Attempting to read another’s mind is -- to say the least -- a formidable

task, especially when matching thoughts with the musical brilliance of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

But audiences will have an opportunity to explore that endeavor when the

Pacific Chorale opens its 32nd concert season Sunday with a performance

of Robert Levin’s rendition of Mozart’s “Requiem Mass.”

“To take a work that is so beloved as ‘Mozart’s Requiem’ and to revisit

it 200 years later as something new is a fascinating project,” said John

Alexander, who will conduct the Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony

Orchestra.

The performance at the Orange County Performing Arts Center also will

include Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass,” one of six masses he

wrote between 1796 and 1802 to commemorate the name day of his patron’s

wife, Princess Marie Hermenegild Eszterhazy.

But it is “Requiem Mass,” Mozart’s unfinished work, which seems to keep

controversy swirling around its musical notes.

It was 1791 and a desperately ill Mozart was feverishly trying to finish

the piece by dictating his writings to one of his musical students. But

the 35-year-old artistic genius died before he could accomplish his goal,

leaving only the first two movements done and the next eight in sketches.

The task of completing the last four movements and filling in the gaps

fell heavily onto the shoulders of Mozart’s pupil, Franz Sussmayer.

Working under a frenzied deadline so he would not forfeit a deposit

already paid for the work, Sussmayer combined Mozart’s sketches, the work

of his fellow students and his own original compositions to create the

mixture that today is known as “Mozart’s Requiem.”

It seems, however, that Alexander agrees with music historians that the

end result did not truly reflect Mozart’s ingenious style.

“Sussmayer’s concepts are different, with a much thicker orchestration

and with more instruments during vocal parts than Mozart customarily

used,” he said.

Throughout the years, numerous attempts have been made to revise some of

Sussmayer’s writings and create a work that more closely resembles

Mozart’s approach. And such is the case with Levin, a Harvard professor,

who completed his adaptation in 1994.

“We hope this version, modest as it is, reflects Mozart’s spirit and

allows the listener to experience the magnificent torso in the framework

of its historical tradition,” Levin said.

Lenora Meister of Corona del Mar, a soprano with the chorale for 29

years, wonders if the audience will pick up on the changes.

“I really think they may not even notice unless they know Mozart’s work

intimately,” she said. “But then Mozart is such a favorite composer with

so many people, perhaps the changes will be more noticeable.”

Some of Levin’s changes include altering the endings of “Benedictus” and

the “Agnus Dei” in order to have better conclusions and transitions,

rewriting the “Osanna” and using Sussmayer’s original musical subject in

a more elaborate and interesting style.

In addition, he has added an “Amen” fugue to the “Lacrymosa,” based on a

rediscovered fragment of Mozart’s own writing that Sussmayer had omitted.

Fourteen-year chorale member Steve Webb of Costa Mesa looks forward to

performing Levin’s edition.

“To me, it is fun to be doing a different version like this,” he said.

“It is like seeing a remake of a classic movie and all the new surprises

in it.”

Other featured singers are soprano Camille King, mezzo-soprano Adelaide

Sinclair, tenor Jonathan Mack and bass Michael Morgan.

FYI

* What: Robert Levin’s rendition of “Mozart’s Requiem,” performed by the

Pacific Chorale, and Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Lord Nelson Mass”

* Where: Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town

Center, Costa Mesa

* When: 7 p.m. Sunday (6 p.m. concert preview with Vance Wolverton)

* Cost: $14 to $48

* Call: (714) 662-2345