The opening concerts of The Wayne Oratorio Society’s 2026-2027 concert season are this weekend!
A Requiem written by the "Father of the Viennese Operetta"? Lost for the first eight decades of the 20th century, Franz von Suppé's monumental Requiem (1855) is an epic, rich, and deeply moving work. It pays deep reverence to Mozart's Requiem while anticipating the dramatic, operatic world of Verdi's Requiem nearly two decades before its composition. If you love the Mozart and Verdi settings, discovering Suppé's Requiem can feel like a musical epiphany: an astonishing masterpiece that bridges these two towering works. Come experience a work that earns its rightful place alongside the standard-bearers of 19th-century Romantic sacred music.
In contrast to Suppé’s dramatic grandeur, Johannes Brahms’s Nänie (1881) offers an intimate, serene meditation on grief, remembrance, and consolation. By setting Friedrich Schiller’s poignant poem on mortality (full of wonderful mythological analogies) to music, Brahms confronts Schiller's central statement that “even the beautiful must die.” Rather than focusing solely on sorrow, this luminous lament concludes with gentle comfort - reminding us that to be mourned by loved ones is a glory of its own. Ultimately, it stands as one of the Romantic era’s most sublime elegies. Come, experience these two rarely performed choral gems!
160 Voices | Professional Orchestra & Soloists
Please plan to arrive early for optimal parking and seating.
Wayne Presbyterian Church
125 E. Lancaster Ave.
Wayne, PA 19087
Our new start time is 7:00 PM!
FREE CONCERT | Free-Will Offering Taken