If I do not hear another performance of Mozart all season, I will be content to have last night’s performance of the Requiem from the Harris Theater singing in my head.  Given a piece of such mythic baggage, written by one of the most mythologized composers in Western music, I suppose a performer’s urge to jump in and blow the roof off is tremendous, if only to live up to the hype.
 
All the more reason why the restraint of Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque was so satisfying (after all, the Requiem is lofty enough).  Glover’s sparing use of any dynamic louder than mezzo-forte was to great effect, allowing moments of rapture to shine when she let the orchestra and chorus reach maximum volume; the softer moments created a shroud of mystery and awe.  All of MOB’s—and Mozart’s—emotions fused to reach a higher level as the ensemble poured out its collective heart under the weight of the Lacrimosa.  Soloists Arianna Zukerman (soprano), Phyllis Pancella (mezzo-soprano), Scott Ramsay (tenor), and Stephen Morscheck (bass-baritone) brought an equally masterful command of the delicate texture.  Ramsay’s ringing tenor and Zukerman’s silky soprano blended evenly with their lower counterparts.
 
The program also included Mozart’s Symphony No. 29 in A Major, in which the orchestra’s clean articulation in all registers produced a sparkling transparency.  While other Mozarteans will come to town this year, Glover and her orchestra are clearly the city’s resident experts.