Requiem for the Living

Program Notes

Music and text have the power to provide us with healing and comfort as we struggle through these challenging times. Tonight’s concert, Requiem for the Living, centers around “light” as a symbol of hope and comfort for those of us here on Earth, the living.

We begin with Hail Gladdening Light by Charles Wood–a musical meditation on darkness and light. This double choir setting is a hymn of praise to the giver of light, light as a sign of hope, healing the troubled soul. Nachtlied (Night Song), a sacred motet, was composed in 1914 in Meiningen by German composer Max Reger. It was not published until 1916, after Reger’s death, as part of a larger set of works–Acht geistliche Gesänge (Eight Sacred Songs). The libretto is written by Petrus Herbert, beginning with the text “Die Nacht ist kommen” (the night has come), offering a prayer-like mood, leading the listener to retreat to their own world to find a sense of closure and inner calm amongst the dark night. How Calmly the Evening, written by British composer Edward Elgar, speaks to the tranquility of the night, a prayer setting for peace and comfort.

 Lili Boulanger’s Hymne au Soleil (Hymn to the Sun), composed when she was eighteen, is like a metaphor for the new day rising. The harmony is particularly striking as chords are stacked in fourths and often transitions are between seemingly unrelated chords. Elaine Hagenberg’s setting of Still With Thee is an “anthem that exudes confidence, comfort and assurance.” Evocation (Mon-Nee-Joh), written by Korean composer Hyo-Young Cho, is a piece that reminds us while our loved ones have departed, beautiful memories remain, and they will never be forgotten.

 We conclude the concert with Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living (2013). Forrest combines text taken from the Requiem Mass with Biblical text from Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job. The opening movement takes after the traditional Introit and Kyrie text, pleading for rest and mercy. Instead of using the Dies Irae, the second movement speaks of the turmoil and sorrow which humanity faces while evoking the character of the Dies Irae. The third movement (Agnus Dei), breaking away from the liturgical order of a requiem, pleads for deliverance and peace. Sanctus follows, a movement that offers glimpses of the “heavens and earth, full of Thy glory.” The opening section is inspired by images of space from the Hubble Space Telescope, the middle section by images of Earth viewed from the International Space Station, and the final section by images that bring the listener down to Earth. The work draws to closure with Lux Aeterna, portraying light, peace, and rest for both the deceased and the living.

 ~ Program Notes © 2025 by Katherine Chan