Music
Welcome to the Requiem of the Month Club
by Jeff Miller
As you all know, the world is reportedly ending in 12 months- at least according to the Mayans. With that happy thought in mind for the New Year, I thought it fitting to present for your listening pleasure and edification a suggested Requiem for each month of this last year of Earthly existence.
The Requiem Mass (at least the sung part of it) is, in large part, a prayer of peace for the recently departed. More often than not, these musical pieces are performed as concert pieces rather than within the context of a funeral. It's also interesting to note that this liturgy is not limited to the Roman Catholic church, but also to Anglican and certain Lutheran Churches as well. There are some references and metaphors to deal with and some theological hairs to split, but ironically, they are few and extremely fine as those things go. Not each setting includes all the available text as well. We'll talk through these as we go.
We begin the collection with one of my favorite of the genre: Maurice Durufle (1902-86), Requiem, Op. 9 for choir, soloists, organ and orchestra. It is usually performed with organ alone or with a string orchestra, although there is a version for full orchestra.
This is a striking work combining chant from the 12/13th century with 20th century harmonies and progressions. The blending works so well that it calls to mind the fact that there is nothing new under the sun.
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