Letters: Doing more with Mozart

Re “The power to lift and heal,” Column One, March 25

Thanks to Randy Lewis for sharing his experience singing Mozart.

Having sung in church choirs since 1972, and having more than once sung both Mozart’s Requiem and “Ave Verum Corpus,” I can say to Lewis, “Welcome to the club.”

Here’s an obscure quote regarding “Ave Verum Corpus” from a textbook that belonged to my great-grandmother: “We now give, as a last model example, a perfect masterwork of harmonic composition, chosen from among many as best adapted for this purpose on account of its pregnant character within small compass.”

Bill Owen

Altadena

Thanks so much to Lewis for this article. What a story, a perfect expression of what can happen when you go “inside” the music.

Not long ago, the Oakland Symphony did some community outreach at a high school. One of the teenagers said, “I never felt those feelings before.” It’s a transformation, or maybe transportation, but it’s the open secret for all who want to give it a try.

Because of what Lewis wrote about this transformative experience singing “Ave Verum Corpus,” I hope more people will.

Pete Sommer

Redwood City, Calif.

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