This weekend it's a double-header for war music, at home and abroad, in a pair of performances ranging from large-scale classical to period recreation.
On Friday, May 3, William Weinert will conduct Benjamin Britten's massive "War Requiem," written to celebrate the opening of an English church destroyed during a World War II. A 90-minute work in six movements, the composition will require performances by the Eastman Rochester Chorus, Eastman Chorale, Eastman Philharmonia, and the Eastman Children's Chorus, along with four soloists. Weinert described the piece as "the most important musical work ever written with an anti-war message."
Then, two days later on Sunday, May 5, Dearest Home, a folk ensemble from Gettysburg, will don Civil War-era attire to recreate a vespers liturgy from an 1862 worship book. The Civil War Vespers is presented to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. The group features vocals, fiddle, concertina, guitar, bass, piano, reed organ, mountain dulcimer, pennywhistle, flugelhorn, trumpet, trombones, and tambourine. Reception to follow.
"War Requiem" will be performed Friday, May 3, 8 p.m. at the Eastman Theatre, 60 Gibbs St. Free. 274-1100, esm.rochester.edu.
Dearest Home will perform Sunday, May 5, 4 p.m. at The Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, 597 East Ave. Suggested freewill offering $10. 244-6065, MusicAtIncarnateWord.org/wp/.