Mozart: Requiem

The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (SPC) presented a particularly interesting concert, tracing a musical line across almost five centuries—from the 16th-century Thomas Tallis, through Mozart and Ralph Vaughan Williams, to contemporary British composer John Rutter, born in 1945.The connection between the works was especially interesting. Tallis’s moving Why Fum’th in Fight? provided the theme that inspired Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis nearly 400 years later. The program then moved from the drama of Mozart’s Requiem to Rutter’s lively Gloria, showing how sacred choral music has changed over the centuries while still moving audiences.

The first half was devoted to Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K.626, one of the most admired and mysterious works in the repertoire. Mozart died in December 1791 before completing it, leaving much of the work in sketches and vocal parts. His widow, Constanze, commissioned his pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr to complete the score, using Mozart’s surviving material. The exact division between what Mozart wrote and what Süssmayr completed has remained a subject of discussion among music scholars.

Under guest conductor Stephen Layton, one of the world’s leading choral conductors, the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs gave a very strong performance. Trained under the direction of Elizabeth Scott, chorus master and Associate Music Director of the SPC, the choir’s diction was clear, with careful attention to phrasing, especially the long phrases, dynamics and colour.

Layton was particularly good at building large climaxes from very quiet beginnings. In the opening Requiem aeternam, the music gradually gathered strength and urgency, building to a powerful chorus sound. The effect was dramatic without being exaggerated.

The Dies irae brought a very different energy — urgent and frightening — while the Confutatis showed Layton’s ability to make Mozart’s contrasts vivid. The forceful male voices were followed by the much softer pleading of the women’s voices, making this one of the work’s most striking moments.

Written for four solo voices and SATB choir, the Requiem contains music of great drama, intensity and tenderness. Samantha Clarke (soprano), Ashlyn Tymms (mezzo-soprano), Andrew Goodwin (tenor) and Simon Meadows (bass) formed a well-matched quartet, with their voices blending especially well.

Especially beautiful was the Recordare, where the four soloists seemed almost to converse with each other, passing phrases between them and blending into closely woven harmonies. The intimacy of this movement provided a lovely contrast to the more powerful Dies irae and Rex tremendae.

The Lacrimosa remains perhaps the most instantly recognisable movement of the work. Its association with the film Amadeus has given it an additional resonance for many listeners, but hearing it live in the Concert Hall showed why this music has such lasting appeal. The gently falling vocal lines and expressive strings created a deeply moving atmosphere of grief.

Layton’s interpretation was particularly successful in bringing out the work’s contrasts — terror and tenderness, complex fugal writing alongside simpler passages, and powerful choral sections beside more intimate solo passages. In the words of the very excited audience member behind me: “This was fantastic. Mozart would have been proud!”

After the interval, the SSO string orchestra was on stage and looked ready to perform. When Layton raised his arm, however, the stage suddenly went dark. Instead, ethereal music from the choir was heard through the closed entry door of the Concert Hall. It was simple, pure and unaccompanied.

That ancient tune by Thomas Tallis, Why Fum’th in Sight?, was used by English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams in an entirely different sound world as the main melody for his famous 1910 piece, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, which was the next work in the program.

Here, Vaughan Williams writes for three groups of strings, deliberately separated and placed at a distance, creating a kind of three-dimensional stereo effect. The piece was full of rich harmonies, with beautifully performed solos, especially from concertmaster Andrew Haveron.

After opening with Tallis from the 16th century, the music moved through the centuries to arrive at John Rutter’s Gloria — sacred choral music with a 20th-century flair.

There were many “wow” moments, with bright, rhythmic and celebratory energy from both the choir and enlarged orchestra. The Allegro vivace included a glittering brass ensemble, while the oboe introduced gentle, picturesque themes. A short but warm vocal solo appeared in the introspective second movement, followed by the jubilant third and final movement, with its syncopated rhythms, cute xylophone part and changes of metre.

The work finished with the words Gloria in excelsis — Glory be to G-d on high — with an almost Hollywood-style excitement.

Emirates Masters Series

Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House

10 September 2026, 1.30pm