Word: requiem
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...Requiem, besides being firmly enmeshed in familiar traditions, is a large, imposing work; it is a tribute to it to compare it with the outstanding works of choral literature because in many ways it belongs among them. The opening section, "Lamentations, and Mourning," has the sustained beauty, completely worked-out structure, and unerring poise that are identified only with the very greatest works of art, and on the strength of the section alone, the Requiem must be considered as an important and very fine contribution...
Although the rest of the Requiem never regains the magnificence of this opening movement, there are other high points, including the tender "Sing with the Spirit," the moving "Walk as Children of Light," and the virtuosic "Sing unto Him." Throughout the piece, Thompson demonstrates his absolute command of the choral idiom, and ability to produce a variety of effects without lapsing into mere showiness. His cadences perhaps lean too heavily on the received value of a rich pianissimo close, but, for the most part he does not substitute sound effects for more serious and difficult musical tasks, but uses...
...most recent large-scale work, a Requiem for double chorus, which will be performed tonight in Sanders by the Glee Club and Choral Society, was composed in isolation. "I had a sabbatical in 1957-8 and my friends assumed that I had left town for the winter. Really, I had just stayed at home on Brattle Street working long hours in my studio there. When I appeared at school next fall, some colleagues asked me how I had enjoyed my trip. The solitude that I attained in that year was invaluable. After two months of undisturbed labor, I found that...
...Schubert: Symphony #2; Vitali; Chaconne for violin and figured bass; Verdi: Requiem; Bartok: Quartet #1; Borodin: Symphony #2; Boccherini: Trio...
...great lesser-known works of choral literature is the Requiem of Gabriel Faure. Written near the end of the 19th Century, this hauntingly beautiful score stands apart, almost completely detached from the influences of the late Romantic era. It is a brooding, restless piece, characterized by tentative, unresolved progressions, chromatic exploration, repeated figures, and a limited but unusual harmonic scheme. Above all it illustrates Faure's extremely delicate feeling for both line and texture, his carefully balanced sense of structure and climax...