Popular mythology and movie lore would have us believe that Mozart composed his glorious "Requiem" for himself in an otherworldly premonition of his untimely demise at age 35. This is at most a half-truth, for when Mozart signed the commission to ghost-write a Requiem for a vain Austrian nobleman (one Franz, Count von Walsegg) who intended to pass it off as his own composition, Wolfgang Amadeus was in fine health. It was only a few months later, after he finished two major operas and was able to concentrate on writing the strangely commissioned "Requiem"--this was a time when the Mozart household was particularly short of cash--that the composer's health began to fail, and as he sketched more of the work's movements it did occur to him that the composition might turn into his own musical memorial.

His distressed widow Constanze, no fool she, decided to turn the incomplete Requiem into a cash cow, getting her late husband's most accomplished students to complete and orchestrate the work. His prize pupil Franz Suessmayr cleverly forged Mozart's signature to the finished manuscript, which she then presented to the Count for the remainder of the commission fee. Behind his back, she promptly sent another copy of the "Requiem" off to Mozart's publishers in Leipzig to be published. She subsequently took the "Requiem" on the road to several German cities, performing it (she was an excellent soprano) in Berlin at the Royal Opera House under the patronage of the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II, who had been an admirer of Mozart's music.

Friday (October 30) the San Diego Master Chorale and San Diego Symphony joined forces to perform Mozart's "Requiem" in the customary Suessmayr version. Under the direction of Symphony Music Director Jahja Ling, this "Requiem" sounded vigorous and imposing, and both chorus and orchestra acquitted themselves admirably. The Master Chorale exhibited rhythmic discipline and a clearly-focused ensemble sonority, which paid great dividends in the many fugues the composer scattered throughout the work. The strong accents of their opening "Kyrie" established the urgency of that movement, while the more fluid counterpoint of the "Osanna in excelsis" cascaded with graceful articulation. Having heard this group perform under their director, Gary McKercher, I can attest that their palette of colors and dynamic levels is much wider than what maestro Ling asked of them.

What Ling's interpretation lacked, unfortunately, was subtlety, varied dynamic contrast, and a clear communication of what the text was about. What makes Mozart's "Requiem" compelling is the composer's juxtaposition of light and dark, e.g. the serene pleading of the "Recordare" followed by the furor of the "Confutatis," or the majestic statement of "Rex tremendae" that melts into the angelic pleas of "Salve me." Ling was always rushing to the rousing declamations, allowing little time to savor the intimate, devotional contrasts.

As an ensemble, the solo vocal quartet produced a colorful, full-throated sound that filled the room nicely. The only solo voice that made you want to rush out and buy CD's was that of mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, a singer who dazzled the La Jolla SummerFest audience in August with her performance of Respighi's "Il Tramonto" and won deserved applause as Kitty Oppenheimer in the Met's production last fall of John Adams' opera "Doctor Atomic." The rich luster of Cooke's freely-produced mezzo and her opulent phrasing contrasted with soprano Jessica Rivera"s refined but constrained, uninflected lines. Tenor Thomas Cooley offered pliant phrasing and a richer vocal sound, although he occasionally pushed too hard and lost his focus. Bass-baritone Jason Grant had the stentorian punch for his "Tuba mirum" solo--if only he had a reliable legato for his other solo duties. Of particular sonic beauty and elegant phrasing was Principal Trombone Kyle Covington in his instrumental depiction of that celestial "last trumpet."

While the Jacobs' Masterworks Series is a public concert not a religious service, to exclude that sense of devotion and pious intensity that many sections require is to miss a defining quality of the composition. The Verdi "Requiem" and Benjamin Britten"s "War Requiem" are true concert works by intention of the composer. Mozart's "Requiem," however, belongs to the traditional category of compositions--like the early Haydn Masses--that invoke incense, stained-glass windows, and gilded statues of the saints.

The first half of the program offered a rarity, Max Bruch's Second Violin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 44, with Symphony Concertmaster Jeff Thayer as soloist. A work in which the orchestra is kept meticulously in the background, this Violin Concerto allowed Thayer to demonstrate his dexterity, nimble facility, and shimmering, silvery tone at all times. Both he and Ling responded to the composer's rhapsodic Romantic idiom, and it would be difficult to imagine a more pleasing rendition of this concerto. Ling opened the concert with Wagner's Prelude to Act III of "Lohengrin," a chance for the horns and brass sections to flaunt their buff musical muscles.

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