CARNEGIE HALL CONCERT
HARDIN REQUIEM - MAY 29, 2023
MUSIC, NOTES, AND PERFORMANCE RECORDINGS
LINK TO "BEST OF" RECORDINGS FROM PAST REQUIEM PERFORMANCES
LINK TO MIDI REHEARSAL FILES - ALL VOICE PARTS FOR ALL CHORAL MOVEMENTS
LINK TO ACA REHEARSAL VIDEO YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
Please review your assignments carefully and mark in your scores. Contact me with questions/concerns.
Rehearsal notes from John Rutter for his Requiem and Te Deum. Rehearsal practice files linked at the bottom of this page.
UPDATED RESIDENCY SCHEDULES:
ACA REHEARSAL LOG FOR REQUIEM MOVEMENTS:
-
January 12:
-
16:10 - 28:26 - Mvt. 1 first looks and pronunciation for first part.
-
32:46 - 35:40 - Mvt. 6 first read through only. No detail work.
-
-
January 19: No Requiem Rehearsal
-
January 26: Movements 1, 6, and 8
-
8:57 - 58:12 - Mvt 1 thorough review with text (more clarifications to come)
-
58:12 - 1:10:39 - Mvt 6 thorough review
-
1:10:39 - 1:22:35 - Mvt 8 first looks. Main melody then detail work for SATB section starting on p. 52 - end. Followed by some Carnegie clarifications/announcements.
-
-
February 2: No Requiem Rehearsal
-
February 9:
-
14:43 - 46:23 - Mvt. 3 first looks and detail work.
-
46:32 - 49:39 - Mvt. 8 Review of opening melody and SATB section p. 52 - end. No detail work.
-
49:40 - 1:03:22 - Mvt. 9 first looks and then detail work
-
-
February 9 Part Two (out of order in the playlist - look after Mar. 9. rehearsal.
-
0:38 - 8:11 Mvt. 4 first looks and detail notes
-
8:40 - 12:14 Discovering different score versions of Mvt. 8
-
12:14-20:17 Mvt. 8 first looks and some detail work
-
-
February 16: Online Zoom Rehearsal with more concise guide to Mvt. 1 pronunciation at time mark 1:16:20-1:33:55.
-
February 23: No Requiem Rehearsal
-
March 2: Mvt 1 at time mark 1:27:04 - 1:47:20.
-
March 4: Mvt. 10 first looks and study at 1:25:12 - 1:45:36. Mvt. 11 read-through at 1:45:36 - 1:53:13.
-
March 9: No choral movements. Read through the solo Mvt. 2 in both keys at time mark 1:42:57.
-
March 16: No Rehearsal
-
March 23: No Requiem Rehearsal
-
March 30:
-
Mvt. 11 at 57:01 - 1:30:03. Detail work and describing the 3-part split for sopranos and altos.
-
Mvt. 3 at 1:30:03 - 1:444:00. Detail work.
-
-
April 6: Mvt. 10 at time mark 48:51 - 1:05:50. Detail work.
-
April 13: No Requiem Rehearsal
-
April 20: SSAA work on Mvt 4 at time mark 7:38 - 23:34 and Mvt 8 from 23:34 - 46:47 (adding TB at 39:36)
-
April 27: Run of Requiem starting at 1:26:38
LINKS TO RECORDED ZOOM SESSIONS:
-
Saturday, February 11 - NOTE OF CORRECTION: Three words that are described starting at 21:38 - "magicianis" (m. 140), "logicianis" (m. 144) and "practicianis" (m. 157) are pronounced wrong at first and then corrected with a participant question at 36:27. Listen to that question for the correct pronunciations. A more concise guide to Mvt. 1 pronunciation can be found at this ACA Rehearsal Zoom at time mark 1:16:20-1:33:55.
-
Saturday, March 11 Covering the details of Mvt. 6, 8, and 9, plus helpful hint for Mvt. 10 and read-throughs for language of Mvt. 1. Some FAQs addressed.
-
Saturday, April 1 Covering the details of Mvts. 10 and 11.
-
Saturday, April 22 Covering the details of the Rutter Te Deum and some travel details.
MOVEMENT NOTES
1. Timor Mortis Conturbat Me
Translation:
On the the dead go all estates - princes, priests, and potestats (magistrates or rulers),
both rich and poor of all degree (station): Fear of death dismays me.
He (death) leads the knights into the field, unarmed under helm and shield,
victor he is of all melee (encounters): Fear of death dismays me.
That strange, unmerciful tyrant takes from the mother's breast the young, the babe full of kindness.
He takes the champion in his strength, the captain from the shelter of his tower, the lady from her chambers at the height of her beauty: Fear of death dismays me.
He spares no lord for his elegance, nor clerk for his intelligence,
his awful stroke may no man flee: Fear of death dismays me.
Artist, magician, and scientist, orator, logician, theologian: they cannot but conclude: Fear of death dismays me.
In medicine the most practiced surgeons and physicians, themselves from death cannot save. Fear of death dismays me.
Since for death there is no remedy best is for us to prepare, so that after our death we may live (be set free).
Fear of death dismays me.
Breath marks: small breaths in m. 142 and 162 at the commas in the text.
Pronunciation clarification is available at this ACA Rehearsal Zoom at time mark 1:16:20-1:33:55 and coming soon here.
3. Dirge Without Music with When I Am Dead My Dearest.
Breath marks:
-
mm. 49 and 53 - make the note for "grave" and eighth note followed by an eighth note rest.
-
no breath between mm. 63-64 and 71-72.
-
mm. 64, 66, 68, and 70 - eighth note rest at the end of each bar.
We will elongate the diphthong on the word "down" when it occurs. For example, the dotted quarter notes in mm. 65, 67, etc. will get almost an eighth-not worth of the /oo/ sound.
4. Holy Light
Be sure to note that this is an SSAA movement only!
Breath marks: All breath marks noted above the staff are an eighth note in length. Please note no breath in m. 5.
6. Never More
Breath marks:
-
All breath marks noted above the staff are an eighth note in length.
-
Please note no breath in mm. 2-3, mm. 7-8 (basses), mm. 22-23, mm. 37-38, mm. 43-44 (basses).
Move the piu mosso marking from m. 19 earlier to m. 17.
8. To Everything There is a Season
Breath marks: all breath marks noted above the staff are an eighth note in length.
Voicing: The newest version of the score has sopranos dividing to S1 and S2 staves from mm. 43 - 67. In earlier versions, this was an alto divide. We will stay with this divide, but will ask individuals to balance parts as necessary. Sopranos in m. 45 will self select for the split and then we will balance during rehearsals.
The stressed and unstressed syllables - marked with a tenuto (dash) and shallow u symbols - are vital to this movement. Change dynamics to bring out this variance in word stress.
Be careful to keep the sense of phrase going even when broken with quarter rests. Keep those pauses or breaths in the same shape as the notes and vowels following.
Tenor/bass ostinato (mm. 68 - end) is constantly soft and constantly shaped towards the 3rd measure of each phrase.
9. Time and We Bereaved
Breath marks:
-
CHANGE for the this movement. The breath marks noted above the staff are a QUARTER NOTE in length.
-
Whole notes in mm. 36, 44,48, 84, 88, and 92 become dotted half-notes with the quarter rest.
-
Dotted half notes in mm. 40, 52, 56, and 60 become half notes with the quarter rest.
-
-
In mm. 63 and 96, add a tentuo marking to the staccatos and turn both half notes into quarter notes with a quarter rest.
Articulations: The tentuto with staccato is key to the feel of this movement. Be sure to stretch the notes longer than a staccato, but have clear space between.
The B section of the melody occurs in mm. 49-64 and mm. 81-98. Both should be a total legato except where breath marks and articulations occurs. Note that commas in the text (m. 58 and 86) should not be marked with a breath or break.
10. Threnody and Limitless
Breath marks:
-
Most are covered by rests, which need to be treated precisely.
-
m. 25 for sopranos and altos - change "go" to an eighth note with an eighth note rest.
-
mm. 131-132 for tenors and basses - change the dotted half note in m. 131 to a dotted quarter noted with a dotted quarter note rest (to match the soprano/alto line). Sing the word "Love" on the downbeat of m. 132.
Rhythm and articulation:
-
The whole movement is felt "in one," alternating between a 6/8 feel and a 3/4 feel.
-
It's fast! Breath and articulate lightly!
-
Soprano/alto "Old servant death" theme - is different on every phrase except the last one! Watch especially the eight note rest at m. 73 and the dotted quarter note entrance at m. 106.
-
Watch the rhythm in m. 140 for both the full dotted quarter note of "Love" and the duple of "how."
-
All dotted quarter note -> dotted quarter note rests in FF sections need a distinct shadow consonant precisely on the rest. Examples - mm. 152, 163, 188, 190, 192, 198, 100, 102.
Tenor/bass in the "joy/grief how far can you go" passages - looking for a bright, present sound.
11. Wherever You Go Now
There will be a longer pause between Mvt. 10 and 11. Take some slow, measured, quiet breaths.
I want a TRUE pianissimo in the beginning and end of this movement with completely quiet breaths throughout. The final note will stay at a pianissimo and not decay to nothing.
Tempo and Rubato:
There is quite a lot of rubato within phrases, often accelerating slightly towards the middle of the phrase, then relaxing.
-
First example is mm. 10-11 in the soprano/alto.
-
The theme that the tenors have at m. 19 always moves a bit - whoever has it throughout.
-
The più mosso at m. 34 is significant. Eyes up! It moves through m. 46, slows for a couple measures, moves again for mm. 50-53, then relaxes.
Breath marks:
-
All breath marks noted above the staff are an eighth note in length.
-
Note the quarter note rests (by contrast) in mm. 73, 75, 114 and 117
PROGRAM NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER
The first performances of Requiem took place in the spring of 1993 at River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland. It had been commissioned by a small group within the congregation that wished for a choralwork on the themes of death, grief, remembrance, and gratitude that used an alternative text than that of the traditional Roman Catholic rite. With that inspiration, texts for this piece are drawn from a wide variety of poems and writings, mostly by 19th and 20th century authors.
There is no question in my mind that the texts in this Requiem are central to its appeal. Besides being wonderful in themselves, they were also chosen because they could be used in a meaningful order. The order of the texts depicts the time before a
person's death, the experience of death, and the human experience of loss of a loved one.
The first movement serves as a choral overture. The stanzas from Dunbar's poem draw our attention to the inevitability of death. The Latin refrain, Timor mortis conturbat me, gives voice to the fear and uncertainty about death that is innate to humankind. The second movement, Telos, expresses the acceptance of death by one who is dying, and the desire to reach out to a loved one: "Give me your hand." The third movement contrasts acceptance of death, in both bass and soprano solos (When I Am Dead, My Dearest) with defiance of death by the chorus (first and last stanzas of Dirge Without Music). ln the fourth movement, final surrender to death comes, here sung by a women's chorus. It was my intention in conveying the universality of death to avoid assigning the role of the dying person to any particular soloist or ensemble. This was my reason for using both male and female soloists, as well as a women's chorus, for that role. From the fifth movement on, the flow of events and mood requires no explanation. All of the remaining movements deal with the emotions of bereavement, with mourning, with consolation, and with the assurance that love is more powerful than death. In both movements nine and ten, the words of two poems are intertwined. In these cases, the combined texts are meant to show not contrasting thoughts and emotions, but complementary ones.
Settings of the Roman Catholic Requiem text often conclude by repeating the prayer, Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine ... "Rest eternal give unto them, O Lord." In the last movement of this piece, with John Buxton's beautiful poem, there is a turn of
idea. The voice is not that of the mourner, praying for the loved one's eternal rest. Rather, it is the voice of the departed, in a comforting and sustaining presence, saying to the bereaved, and I hope, to all of us who have been bereaved, "You may rest now."
-Clif Hardin
Rutter Practice Recordings
Several recordings are available through YouTube and other websites. Here are one set of those resources:
Rutter Te Deum Rehearsal Files (click this line)
Rutter Requiem