Kāpiti Chorale And Capital Choir Present Mozart’s Requiem In Duncan Druce’s Completion

Kāpiti Chorale and Capital Choir will perform Mozart’s Requiem with orchestra and four soloists this November and December, presenting the completion by English composer and musicologist Duncan Druce.

The concerts take place on Saturday 28 November at Te Raukura ki Kāpiti in Raumati Beach and Saturday 5 December at the Riley Centre, Wellington High School. Both begin at 3.00pm. The Wellington performance falls on the anniversary of Mozart’s death.

The performances bring together Kāpiti Chorale, conducted by Eric Sidoti, and Capital Choir, conducted by Barbara Paterson, with an orchestra led by concertmaster Martin Riseley. Paterson also features as soprano soloist, alongside alto Ruth Armishaw, tenor Richard Taylor and bass Joseph Haddow.

Mozart’s Requiem has captivated audiences for more than two centuries, but the work was unfinished when the composer died in 1791 at the age of 35. His wife, Constanze, arranged for the commissioned work to be completed. Most of that task fell to Franz Xaver Süssmayr, whose version remains the most frequently performed today.

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Mozart’s surviving manuscript and sketches have continued to raise questions about how he might have completed the Requiem himself. Over the past two centuries, composers and scholars have returned to the score to offer different solutions.

Created in 1984, Druce’s completion draws on Mozart’s surviving material while reconsidering several elements of the traditional Süssmayr version. One of its most striking features is an extended Amen fugue following the Lacrimosa, developed from a surviving Mozart sketch. It offers audiences a different perspective on a familiar work.

The first half of the concert spans different periods, cultures and musical traditions. The programme includes Mozart’s V’amo di core, Salieri’s Te Deum laudamus in D major, Joseph Haydn’s Te Deum No. 2 in C major, Hine, E Hine by Princess Te Rangi Pai, arranged by Andrew Withington, and the spiritual Soon Ah Will Be Done, arranged by William Dawson.

Capital Choir will also perform The Cherry Tree Carol and Felicia Edgecombe’s Pōhutukawa Magic and World. The four soloists will sing the Welsh lullaby Suo-gân, arranged by Judith Harrington and Kyle Haugen.

After the interval, the combined choirs, soloists and orchestra will perform Mozart’s Requiem in Duncan Druce’s completion.

About Kāpiti Chorale

Kāpiti Chorale is the largest and longest-serving mixed-voice choir on the Kāpiti Coast. For more than 40 years, the choir has brought singers together to perform choral music across a wide range of genres. Led by Music Director Eric Sidoti, the Chorale presents several concerts each year, often working with guest soloists, instrumentalists and other choirs.

About Capital Choir

Capital Choir is a friendly, mixed-voice community choir based in Wellington, conducted by Barbara Paterson. Over more than 20 years, it has grown from 15 singers to around 75 members. Its varied repertoire includes sacred and secular classical works, New Zealand compositions, spirituals, folk music, musical theatre and popular songs. The non-auditioned choir welcomes singers with different levels of musical experience.

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