Bristol Ensemble: Mozart by Candlelight

Mozart’s infamous Requiem in D minor is a masterpiece shrouded in mystery, making it all the more fascinating, compelling and emotionally stirring. The story of the creation of the work involves a shady commission and a blanket of deceit.

It all began in July 1791, when a stranger turned up at Mozart’s door with a commission to write a requiem. Mozart accepted and obsessively threw himself into the piece and worked on almost nothing else for several months. However, by this time, his health was deteriorating and he was unable to finish what he started. Mozart wasn’t sound of mind when he received the commission and believed he’d been cursed to write the piece as a swansong because he knew he would shortly die. Was he writing his own Requiem?

Experience this extraordinary work in the majestic setting of a candlelit Bristol Cathedral, with over 400 candles recreating the original performance in Vienna 230 years ago on January 2, 1793.

To complete this all Mozart programme, rising star Bethany Crouch joins the Bristol Ensemble in a performance of the much loved Clarinet Concerto.