How to sing Mozart’s Requiem

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE

If you’re a singer – in a choir, or in the shower – you’re bound to come by Mozart’s Requiem.

And when you do, you’d better be prepared.

That’s why we decided to ask Douglas Lawrence how we should actually sing this monumental work.

Douglas has brought the Requiem to audiences eight times so far. As for the ninth? It’ll take place on April 22 as the Australian Chamber Choir follows his expert direction. (You’ll also get to hear the work performed on the original instruments of Mozart’s time.)

Here’s how Douglas approaches the Requiem – so get your thinking cap (or shower cap) on if you’re planning to sing this work throughout your life.

Douglas, let’s talk Requiem. What do you find the most fulfilling about presenting this work? 

The circumstances surrounding the composition of this work have fascinated musicians, music lovers, the person in the street, and filmmakers. It is quite a story.

Some find it frightening. I simply find it beautiful. It is a ripper of a work.

The technical aspect that fascinates me is the achievement of satisfying performances with the instruments that Mozart knew. The most interesting of these is the basset horn, which has a sound to move the soul. There are just two classical basset horns in Australia. To use clarinets instead of the basset horns specified by Mozart is to rip the soul out of this music.

You’ve performed and presented Mozart’s Requiem eight times so far. So what have you learnt since the first?

I think I first conducted the requiem with the Choir of Ormond College in 1986. This was not with period instruments. As a conductor matures, every aspect of the performance of a work is questioned. My understanding of the requiem has increased as my conducting has matured. Life, y’ know. Experience informs everything.

How do you direct this work? Do you try to keep each performance the same in terms of approach? Is your approach influenced by HIP?

I conduct in a very conventional manner, but try to inject beauty; and perhaps pathos (certainly not bathos) into the slower movements, and fire into the fast movements. I have as much eye contact with the important players and singers at any given moment as I can. [Historically Informed] Performance practice has little to do with the way I conduct, but a great deal to do with the end result; the overall impression of this music.

Why do you think audiences keep coming back to Mozart’s Requiem?

I think my response to your first question largely answers this. Mozart is, of course, one of the finest composers. And any major work of his, especially the later symphonies and stunning operas, command attention. The Requiem would be revered if only in that it was his last composition. Of course, it is much more than that.

Douglas’ top three tips for performing Mozart’s Requiem…

1. Know the music backwards. Pronunciation must be absolutely uniform. Insist that your conductor informs the pronunciation, all of it.
2. Look beyond the notes. The more you know about the music and the composer, the better you will sing it.
3. Breathe easy. Shoulders still, long mouth, get rid of the dreaded Australian smiley ‘e’. If your conductor tells you to smile, shoot him or her!

The Australian Chamber Choir will perform Mozart Requiem at 3pm April 22, Scots’ Church. CutCommon subscribers score discounted tix!