Dies irae: a guide to requiem music 9780810846647, 0810846640

Table of contents :
The Gregorian requiem mass --
The polyphonic Corsican requiem --
The Renaissance and the Franco-Flemish school --
The high Renaissance --
The Baroque requiem --
The symphonic requiem --
Romanticism --
The twentieth century --
Dies irae --
Ein Deutsches Requiem : the German requiem --
The Anglican requiem --
The Byzantine-Greek requiem --
The Russian Orthodox panikhida --
The Serbian Orthodox requiem : Opelo --
The Armenian Orthodox requiem.

Citation preview

Dies Irae A Guide to Requiem Music

Robert Chase

The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Maryland, and Plymouth, UK

2003

SCARECROW PRESS, INC. Published in the United States of America by Scarecrow Press, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.scarecrowpress.com Eastover Road Plymouth PL6 7PY United Kingdom Copyright © 2003 by Robert Chase

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chase, Robert, 1938Dies irae : a guide to requiem music I Robert Chase. p. em. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN Q-8108-4664-0 (hardcover: alk. paper) ISBN: 978-0-8108-4664-7 1. Requiems-History and criticism. I. Title. ML3088.C43 2003 782.32'38-dc21 2002152105

@ TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America.

In memory of my parents, Edna Avis Chase Robert Henry Chase

Contents

Foreword by Dr. Jahja Ling, Associate Conductor, Cleveland Orchestra

vii

Acknowledgments

ix

Abbreviations

xi xiii

Introduction

1

1 The Gregorian Requiem Mass

2 The Polyphonic Corsican Requiem

11

3 The Renaissance and the Franco-Flemish School

13

4 The High Renaissance

37

5 The Baroque Requiem

89

6 The Symphonic Requiem 7

183

237

Romanticism

8 The Twentieth Centwy

307

9 Dies Irae

509

10 Ein Deutsches Requiem: The German Requiem

527

11 The Anglican Requiem

567

12 The Byzantine-Greek Requiem

581

13 The Russian Orthodox Panikhida

593

v

vi

Contents

14 The Serbian Orthodox Requiem: Opelo

627

15 The Armenian Orthodox Requiem

637

Appendix A: Dies Irae Melodies

645

Appendix B: More Liturgical Requiems

649

Bibliography

689

Composer Index

701

About the Author

705

Foreword

For musicians, music lovers, choral directors, and anyone interested in music, Dies Irae: A Guide to Requiem Music provides a look into the numerous settings of a musical-poetic form that has been composed from the Middle Ages to the present. Not only does this guide take the reader through the better-known requiems by Mozart, Brahms, Cherubini, and Verdi, but also lesser-known settings by James DeMars, Friedrich Kiel, Theodore Gouvy, and Sir George Henschel. Included are a number of contemporary requiems, such as Gerard Victory's Ultima Rerum and Britten's War Requiem. Dr. Chase has included a significant selection of works from the Eastern Orthodox Rites, works that are an important part of the Christian musical and spiritual heritage. Furthermore, there are also selections from the German Requiem, the Anglican Requiem, the War Requiem, and the secular requiem. It is a wellknown fact that many composers have written a setting of t~eir requiem, but I do not recall any source that puts information about them under one cover. Of special interest to me are the pieces by Gouvy, Rivier, Tomasi, Bomtempo, and the Messa per Rossini. I have conducted many requiems with The Cleveland Orchestra and other orchestras, including Berlioz, Brahms, Faure, Mozart, and Verdi. Every time I conduct a requiem, it is an emotional experience for me and always serves to enlighten. Even though each composer has its own characteristic setting of the requiem, I always feel the same message in the music: et lux perpetua. "May the eternal light shine upon you." It is a message of hope and comfort knowing that eternal life is waiting for those who depart. No other form of music can convey this meaning so vividly except for the requiem. This book will be a welcome addition to any musical library. Jahja Ling, Associate Conductor, Cleveland Orchestra vii

Acknowledgments

Few books are the product of a singular mind and a great many people have helped on this musical journey. I would like to express here my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for that assistance. To composers, James Bingham, Thomas Beveridge, Daniel Pinkham, Edgar Grana, Anthony Newman, and James DeMars-Michel Sarda for scores and tapes of their works. Baronet Lionel Sawkins, for his sharing of his transcription of the virtually impossible-to-find score of De la Lande's grand motet, Dies !rae. Nikolai I