''Requiem for the Living'' is a choral composition in five

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

Dan Forrest Daniel Ernest Forrest Jr. (born January 7, 1978) is an American composer, pianist, educator, and music editor. Biography Dan Forrest was born in Breesport, New York, and began piano lessons with his elementary school music teacher at age 8. In ...

, completed in 2013, an extended setting of the Requiem, scored for

boy soprano A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North Americ ...

, soprano, choir and orchestra. The Latin text that Forrest set combines sections from the Requiem with biblical texts from Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job. The composition was published by Hinshaw Music, including versions for smaller instrumental groups. It has been performed internationally.

History

Forrest composed ''Requiem for the Living'' on a commission from the Hickory Choral Society in North Carolina, conducted by Don Coleman, for the occasion of the choir's 35th anniversary. It was first performed in March 2013. The work was published by Hinshaw Music. It has been frequently performed in the U.S. and abroad.

Structure and scoring

''Requiem for the Living'' is an extended setting of the Requiem, with slightly changed text, and scored for boy soprano, soprano, choir and orchestra. The large orchestra uses a harp and is rich in percussion. Two other versions for a reduced instrumental ensemble are available. Forrest took some parts from the Requiem mass, however arranged in different order, and added a movement, Vanitas Vanitatum, as the second movement: # Introit – Kyrie # Vanitas Vanitatum # Agnus Dei # Sanctus # Lux Aeterna The first movement uses the traditional text

Introit The Introit (from Latin: ''introitus'', "entrance") is part of the opening of the liturgy, liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, Psalms, psalm verse and ' ...

and

Kyrie Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek , vocative case of (''Kyrios''), is a common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called the Kyrie eleison ( ; ). In the Bible The prayer, "Kyrie, eleison," "Lord, have mercy" derives f ...

from the Requiem. The second movement deals with the transience of everything living, based on texts in Latin not usually part of the Requiem which has a Dies irae section instead. Vanitas Vanitatis combines texts from two Biblical sources: Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job. It is set dramatically by rhythms and surprising turns. A reviewer found the music reminiscent of the '' Organ Symphony'' by Camille Saint-Saëns. The third movement is

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the " Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and ...

, normally found towards the end of a Requiem, and requesting the Lamb of God to grant mercy and eternal rest. It is the first movement to feature a soprano soloist, for a specific human touch. The fourth movement,

Sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, th ...

, which is often found in the center of a Requiem setting, is in

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...

. The text "Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua" (Heaven and Earth are full of your glory) is set to music inspired by images taken from the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...

, and the imagination of a city full of life. The final movement, Lux Aeterna (Eternal light), also includes text from the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

, "Come unto me, all ye that labour" () was set before by Handel in ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'', and can be sung by a tenor solo. In most movements, long melodies often begin mysteriously and soft and develop towards a brilliant ending. A single singer would not be able to hold their breath for the duration of the long phrases, but by using staggered breathing, a choir can create the impression of endless melodies.

Performances and recordings

''Requiem for the Living'' was recorded in 2013 by the Bel Canto Company, with soloists boy soprano Donovan Elliott, soprano Lindsey McConville Gallagher and tenor Jeremy Whitener, conducted by Welborn Young. It was performed by the same group at the 39th workshop for sacred choral music, sponsored by Hinshaw Music, at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 2013.

History

Structure and scoring

Performances and recordings

References

Cited sources

External links