Yes, the Patriots were playing. And the Red Sox were on later in the evening. But the real game time was Sunday at 3 p.m. at Saint Anthony of Padua Church, where the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, with members of the Chatham Chorale, and four talented soloists, all led by music director Dr. David MacKenzie, gave a riveting performance of Mozart's great "Requiem."

It's Mozart's last work, written as he was dying, and some have said that he was anticipating his death as he wrote it. But hearing this performance, this listener was convinced that Mozart was celebrating his life.

The afternoon began with a brief concert prelude on the excellent 1912 Casavant organ by Kevin Galie, including works by Clerambault, Franck, and Mulet. Played with elegance and aplomb, Galie set the mood for the music to come.

MacKenzie began the main program with a reading of Samuel Barber's lush and romantic "Adagio for Strings." The orchestra, a stripped down cast from the usual NBSO corps, about 35 players, sounded terrific. MacKenzie kept the tempo very slow, perhaps milking the nostalgia a bit, but the reading had great credibility and emotion. Then came the real deal, the "Requiem." Soloists were Patrice Tiedemann (soprano), Lara Wilson (mezzo), Matthew DiBattista (tenor), and T. Stephen Smith (bass-baritone). All had great skill and wonderful instruments, but the true key is how well they sounded together.

The "Requiem" is not a work where the soloists stand up alone and steal the scene, for the most part. It's a work of harmonious interaction between the soloists, orchestra and chorus. It presents many demands on the conductor, as frequently everyone onstage is doing something, and that must be coordinated.

The "Requiem" was left unfinished, but Mozart left sketches of the parts that were undone. There have been several reworkings of the score: the most frequently performed is H.C. Robbins Landon's edition of a Sussmayr completion. Dr. MacKenzie chose a different version, by the noted Harvard scholar — and excellent pianist — Robert Levin.

Mr. Levin — who incidentally, performed with the NBSO earlier in the decade — is a genius when it comes to Mozart. When he performs, he often improvises his own cadenzas to the piano concertos, showing the wit, complexity, and humor that Mozart himself possessed.

This version of the "Requiem," which unfortunately this listener had not been able to study beforehand, had all those qualities. Most striking was the balance of the ensemble work, an almost democratic approach to the music, allowing the group to make harmonious noise and not feature any one performer. But of course there were solo moments. Principal cellist Leo Eguchi played nobly in the "Recordare" movement, and concertmaster Jesse Holstein, a great leader of an orchestra that is fully professional but still has some significant turnover in the back chairs, also had some memorable solos.

It was the quartet singing from the soloists that impressed the most. If you had to pick winners, Tiedemann and DiBattista had the biggest voices — Mr. DiBattista in particular has the kind of helden-tenor volume that is rarely heard in these parts. But it was the blend — and credit the conductor, who makes this happen — that was most impressive. Mr. Smith is not a loud bass-baritone, but has a pure sound with great lyrical sensuality. Ms. Wilson sang with attentive musicianship, listening carefully to her stage mates and melding beautifully into the ensemble.

The work of the members of the Chatham Chorale was also notable. It's often difficult for regional chorales to attract male singers of substance, but that was not the problem here. The top voices in the chorale sounded fine, but it was the lower voices that drove the engine. Fine work all around at the back of the stage.