The Schiller Institute NYC Chorus continued its tradition of annual 9/11 commemorative events with an amazing “hybrid” concert featuring both live and virtual performances. A chorus of 30 gathered at the church of Our Lady of Pompeii in Greenwich Village (New York City), and presented a program of both live and pre-recorded performances of both European and American classical music and with profound messages from Helga Zepp-LaRouche and Terry Strada, leader 9/11 Families United.
Live performances included the spirituals “Deep River” by Harry Burleigh, “Gypsy Life” by Robert Schumann, and “Va, Pensiero” by Giuseppe Verdi, as well as a marvelous performance of Schubert’s “Arpeggione Sonata” for piano and cello.
The crowning event was the video presentation of the final two movements of Beethoven’s Opus 123 Missa Solemnis – a work which occupied the last five years of Beethoven’s life, but has its own immortal existence. Two years ago, the Schiller Institute NYC Chorus set out to master this work, and was forced to bring it to new life under conditions dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei movements were performed by a chorus each of whose members recorded their own part at home, and these parts were then put together with a virtual orchestra to create an unbelievably powerful effect.
The event is available here: https://www.musae.me/sinycchorus/experiences/1140/911-memorial
