Gordon Kerry explains that in writing his Requiem, he wanted “to compose something in line, in terms of mood and scale, with the Renaissance music in which the Australian Chamber Choir excels.” Gordon’s Requiem takes the form of a series of interpolations between exquisite examples of Renaissance choral music, both sacred and secular.
One of those sacred pieces, Ego flos campi, receives its Australian premiere in this program. When Raffaella Aleotti published the work in Venice in 1593, as part of her Sacred Songs Volume I, she became the first female composer to publish a collection of sacred music.
For modern concertgoers, the term Requiem conjures up works by Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi and Britten, all of whom used considerable orchestral and choral resources to depict heaven, hell and the last judgement. The Missa pro defunctis, composed by Tomás Luis de Victoria is a requiem of a very different kind. This work succeeds in portraying the gamut of human emotions with great intensity, dealing with themes of life and death while using only the human voice. This requiem is the inspiration and the departure point for Gordon’s new work.
PROGRAM
Thomas Tomkins (1572–1656)
When David heard that Absalom was slain
Morten Lauridsen (1943–2007)
O magnum mysterium
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REQUIEM SEQUENCE Part 1
Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611)
Introitus from Missa pro Defunctis (1583)
Gordon Kerry (born 1961)
Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Introit, Kyrie
Thomas Tallis (c.1505–85)
Out from the deep
Gordon Kerry Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Offertorium
Thomas Morley (c.1557–1602)
I heard a voice from heaven
Gordon Kerry Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Sanctus, Benedictus
William Byrd (1540–1623)
Ave verum corpus
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REQUIEM SEQUENCE Part 2
Gordon Kerry Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Agnus Dei
Orlando Gibbons (1583–1625)
Almighty and everlasting God
Gordon Kerry Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Communio: Lux aeterna
Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672)
Seelig sind die Toten
Raffaella Aleotti (c.1570–c.1646)
Ego flos campi
Gordon Kerry Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Antiphon: In paradisum
John Dowland (c.1563–1626)
Weep you no more sad fountains
Thomas Tomkins
O pray for the peace of Jerusalem
Gordon Kerry Missa pro Defunctis 2024
Responsorium: Credo quod redemptor meus