Concert Program for March 25 and 26, 2006
David Robertson, conductor
Camilla Tilling, soprano
Russell Braun, baritone
Saint Louis Symphony
Chorus
Amy Kaiser,
director
The St. Louis Children’s
Choirs
Barbara Berner,
artistic director
Mark Grey, sound designer
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JOHN ADAMS |
On the Transmigration of Souls (2002) |
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|
(b. 1947) |
Saint Louis Symphony Chorus The St. Louis Children’s Choirs, Concert Choir Mark Grey, sound designer |
|
|
|
Intermission | |
| BRAHMS | Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), op. 45 (1865-68) | |
| (1833-1897) |
“Selig sind, die da Leid tragen” (“Blessed are they that mourn”) “Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras” (“For all flesh is as grass”) “Herr, lehre doch mich, daß ein Ende” (“Lord, make me to know mine end”) “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” (“How lovely are thy tabernacles”) “Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit” (“And ye now therefore have sorrow”) “Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt” (“For here have we no continuing city”) “Selig sind die Toten” (“Blessed are the dead”) Camilla Tilling, soprano Russell Braun, baritone Saint Louis Symphony Chorus |
David Robertson is the Beofor
Music Director and Conductor.
Amy Kaiser is the AT&T Foundation Chorus Director.
The concert of Saturday, March 25, is underwritten in part by a
generous gift from Judith and Adam Aronson.
The concert of Sunday, March 26, is underwritten in part by a
generous gift from Mrs. Lucy Lopata.
The concert of Sunday, March 26, is the Thomas M. Peck Memorial
Concert.
The concert of Saturday, March 25, is sponsored by Steinway
Piano Gallery.
The SLSO thanks Meyer Sound Labs, Berkeley, California, for its
generous donation of loudspeakers for these concerts.
Profiles
David Robertson
Beofor Music Director and Conductor
A master of communication and an inspirational force both on and off the podium, American conductor David Robertson has been praised by the press as “that rare combination of passion and intellect that draws musicians and audiences.” This fall 2005, Mr. Robertson began his tenure as the 12th Music Director of the 126-year-old Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and also assumed the title of Principal Guest Conductor of London’s BBC Symphony Orchestra.
A recognized expert in 20th- and 21st-century music with extensive international conducting credits, Mr. Robertson has held several posts abroad. Prior to his Saint Louis Symphony appointment, Mr. Robertson was Music Director of the Orchestre National de Lyon and Artistic Director of that city’s auditorium, posts he held from 2000-04. His tenure there marked the first time that one artist held both musical posts in Lyon. From 1992-2000, he was Music Director of the Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, of which Pierre Boulez is Honorary President, and from 1985-87, he was resident conductor of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.
Born in Santa Monica, California, Mr. Robertson was educated at London’s Royal Academy of Music, where he studied French horn and composition before turning to orchestral conducting. Musical America named him Conductor of the Year for 2000. In 1997, Mr. Robertson was named a recipient of the Seaver/National Endowment for the Arts Conductors Award, the premier prize of its kind, given to exceptionally gifted American conductors. He has two teenage sons and is married to pianist Orli Shaham.
Camilla Tilling
Camilla Tilling was born in Linkoping, Sweden, studied at the University of Gothenburg and subsequently at London’s Royal College of Music. Almost immediately upon graduation, her international opera career was launched at New York’s City Opera with a new production of Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims in which she enjoyed enormous success as Corinna.
By the end of the 2001-02 season, Camilla Tilling had made debuts at Covent Garden (Sophie in Der Rosenkvalier with Simone Young), the Aix-en-Provence Festival (Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Marc Minkowski), Glyndebourne Festival (Peter Grimes with Mark Wigglesworth), La Monnaie (Sophie with Antonio Pappano), the Met (Nanetta in Falstaff with James Levine), and at Sweden’s famous Drottningholm Festival (Pamina in The Magic Flute with Arnold Oestman).
Since then, Ms. Tilling’s opera productions have included Der Rosenkavalier and Pelléas et Mélisande for the Gothenburg Opera (where she is a contract artist), Iole in Handel’s Hercules at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with William Christie, her role debut as Gretel for Geneva Opera with Armin Jordan, and most recently Rosina in The Barber of Seville at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, conducted by Daniele Gatti.
The current season’s opera productions include Idomeneo at La Scala, Der Rosenkavalier in Chicago, and The Marriage of Figaro in San Francisco in addition to her New York recital debut with Julius Drake.
Future projects include Idomeneo and Un ballo in asckera in Paris, La finta giardiniera and Orlando at Covent Garden and The Turn of the Screw at Glyndebourne. She debuts this week with the SLSO.
Russell Braun
Praised for his lyric baritone of rare quality and resonance, Russell Braun performs regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, the Salzburg Festival, San Diego Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, l’Opéra de Paris, and the Canadian Opera Company.
His 2005-06 season offers a challenging combination of recitals, concerts, and opera featuring his debut at La Scala, as well as upcoming performances in The Marriage of Figaro (Winnipeg), Iphìgénie en Tauride and Dido and Aeneas (Paris).
In much demand as a concert artist, Mr. Braun has performed with many of the world’s leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Helmut Rilling, Claudio Abbado, Sylvain Cambreling, James Conlon, Bruno Campanella, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Richard Bradshaw, and Bernard Labadie, appearing with major orchestras in Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Mr. Braun has appeared in solo recital throughout North America and Europe and in duo recitals with tenor Michael Schade and soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. He makes his SLSO debut with these performances.
Amy Kaiser
AT&T Foundation Chorus Director
One of the country’s leading choral directors, Amy Kaiser has conducted the Saint Louis Symphony in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in E flat, sacred works by Haydn and Mozart and Young People’s Concerts. She has made eight guest appearances with the Berkshire Choral Festival, most recently conducting Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Rossini’s Stabat mater at Canterbury Cathedral. Other conducting engagements include concerts at Chicago’s Grant Park Music Festival and more than fifty performances with the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Principal Conductor of the New York Chamber Symphony’s School Concert Series for seven seasons, Ms. Kaiser also led many programs for the 92nd Street Y’s acclaimed Schubertiade and appeared as guest conductor with New York area orchestras. She has conducted over twenty-five operas, including eight contemporary premieres. Ms. Kaiser was also guest conductor for the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute, Santa Fe Symphony, St. Louis Philharmonic and Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. In May she will serve as faculty for a choral/orchestral conducting workshop with Chorus America and the Philadelphia Singers.
Ms. Kaiser has prepared choruses for the New York Philharmonic, the Ravinia Festival, the Mostly Mozart Festival, and the Opera Orchestra of New York. Former Music Director of the Dessoff Choirs and the Mannes Chamber Singers in New York, she also served on the faculties of the Manhattan School of Music and the Mannes College of Music. An alumna of Smith College, she was awarded the Smith College Medal for outstanding professional achievement.
Barbara Berner
Barbara Berner, Artistic Director of The St. Louis Children’s Choirs, conducts the advanced touring ensemble, Concert Choir, and oversees all aspects of the Children’s Choir program, which includes over five-hundred young singers. Under Mrs. Berner’s direction the Concert Choir has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Oregon Bach Festival, the 2005 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Los Angeles, California, and at the White House in 2003 and 2004. Mrs. Berner has prepared the Concert Choir for numerous performances with the Saint Louis Symphony under conductors David Amado, Hans Vonk, Eri Klas, Robert Kapilow, and John McDaniel. Mrs. Berner has conducted the young singers in performances with the Bach Society of St. Louis, the St. Louis Holiday Brass Ensemble, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, featured broadcasts on KFUO Classic 99, and on international tours to Scandinavia (1998), Scotland (2000), Austria and the Czech Republic (2002), and London and Wales (2004).
Barbara Berner received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Principia College and her Master of Music degree from Ithaca College. She was awarded an Artist/Teacher and Master Teacher Diploma from the Institute for Choral Teacher Education, where she studied conducting with Dr. Doreen Rao. Mrs. Berner holds an Advanced Certificate from the Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Kecskémet, Hungary.
Mark Grey
Mark Grey is a sound designer and composer living in the San Francisco area. Professional sound design relationships have led Mr. Grey to work with such artists and organizations as John Adams, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Terry Riley, Kronos Quartet, Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers, and the Paul Dresher Ensemble. Recent sound design projects include the premiere of the John Adams and Peter Sellars opera Doctor Atomic at the San Francisco Opera, and sound designer/artistic collaborator for John Adams On the Transmigration of Souls, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic in 2002, in memory of the September 11, 2001 attacks--some performances have included Avery Fisher Hall, Royal Albert Hall (London), Sydney Opera House Concert Hall (Sydney) and the Concertgebow (Amsterdam). As well, Mr. Grey tours extensively throughout the world with the Kronos Quartet. His Théâtre du Châtelet premieres have included John Adams El Niño, in 2000, and Peter Eötvös Angels in America, starring Barbara Hendricks, in 2004. As a composer, Mr. Grey made his Carnegie Hall debut in November 2003. Recent commissions for solo, ensemble, and orchestra works include Kronos Quartet, Leila Josefowicz, Colorado Music Festival, Paul Dresher Ensemble, the California EAR Unit, and Joan Jeanrenaud (former Kronos cellist). Ms. Josefowicz will premiere a new violin concerto by Mr. Grey in summer of 2006 with conductor Michael Christie, and then perform the work with Marin Alsop in August 2006. As a composer, Mr. Grey was listed by the Los Angeles Times as one of the Faces to Watch in 2006, selected by Mark Swed.
Mark Grey makes his debut as a sound
designer with the SLSO this week.
Saint Louis
Symphony Chorus
Amy Kaiser
Director
Leon Burke III
Assistant Director
Gail Hintz
Accompanist
Richard Ashburner
Manager
| Justin Abate George Aplin Richard Ashburner Elizabeth M. Belle Rudi J. Bertrand Paula N. Bittle Amy Y. Bonn Michael Bouman Richard F. Boyd Katrina Bradley Pamela A. Branson Bonnie Brayshaw Marella Briones Daniel Brodsky Buron F. Buffkin, Jr. Radford Bunting Leon Burke III Cherstin Byers Margaret Schelin Campbell Renee Carey Molly Kastory Carter Mary Clark Mark P. Cereghino Holly Lynn Chase Jennifer Cole Rhonda E. Collins Linda J. Cornell Deborah Dawson Alycia Kathleann Davis Stephanie DeChambeau Diane Dietz Sue Ellen Drewer Krista Elliott Stanley Estrin Kathleen Favazza Jasmine Fazzari Ladd Faszold Robin Fish Steve Garcia Lee Garner Fred Gaskin Tracey L. Gines Susan Goris Karen Sikora Gottschalk |
Susan Greene Jill Guyton Susan H. Hagen James Harkey Amanda Harr James O. Harr William Hart Nancy Helmich Brendan Hemmerle Christine Hemphill Ellen Henschen Gretchen Hewitt Jay Thomas Hewitt Jeffrey E. Heyl Kristi Hickey Brad Hofeditz Matthew S. Holt Mary Huebner Catherine Huggins Gregory Inman Grace E. Jackson Stephanie Jones Warren Keller Robb Kennedy LaNette Kotthoff Norbert Krausz Leanne Magnuson Latuda Lauren Lee Sharon Lentz Sharon Lightfoot Christine Mahoney Jan Marra Laura Medendorp Amanda Meinen Carolyn Munch Shula Neuman Elsa Toby Newburger Rich Nolte Dylan Oakley Duane L. Olson Malachi Owens, Jr. Susan D. Patterson Tafra Perryman Talya Renee’ Perry Brian Pfaltzgraff |
Daniel A. Pickett Paul Provencio III Shelly Ragan Yvonne Raptis Shari Trekell Renken Kate Reimann Laura K. Reinert Dave Ressler Greg J. Riddle Patti Ruff Riggle Terree Rowbottom Marushka Royse Omid E. Safavi Susan Sampson Patricia Scanlon Mark V. Scharff Paula K. Schweitzer Kelly S. Shoop Derek M. Silkebaken John William Simon Nicholas Simpson Glenn Slates Steven Slusher Roger Smalley Charles G. Smith Shirley Bynum Smith Charles Stapinski David Stephens Benna D. Stokes Denise Stookesberry Marc Strathman John Paul Tate III LaVell Thompson, Jr. Byron E. Thornton Pamela M. Triplett David R. Truman Nancy Maxwell Walther Jim West Jeni K. West Paul A. Williams Phillip Wolff Young Ok Woo Young Ran Woo Colonel Jeffrey S. Woolston Carlyn Zimmermann |
The St. Louis Children’s Choirs
Concert Choir
Barbara Berner
Artistic Director
Billie Derham
Accompanist
|
Alyssa Avery |
Loren Honz |
Caroline Rouse |
Music of Consolation
BY PAUL SCHIAVO
Our concert presents two major compositions conceived as contemplations of death--actually, of life made more precious by an awareness of death. Both are requiems of a sort, though neither fits the conventional notion of that word, a liturgy or prayer for the deceased. Both use words and music to confront loss and assuage sorrow. Both employ the resources of massed voices and orchestra. Although they have much in common, they also entail distinct differences. One was prompted by a national tragedy that touched every American. The other grew out of personal circumstance. Yet each transcends the conditions surrounding its genesis to attain a universal significance and value.
On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000
people died in the terrorist attack that destroyed the twin
office towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Several
months later, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra approached
John Adams about writing a new work to be performed at a
commemorative concert marking the first anniversary of that
event.
Adams was the obvious choice for
this occasion. During the past two decades and more, he has
established himself as the most successful American composer of
our time, one whose work upholds venerable musical traditions
yet is notably fresh, personal, and of the present moment.
Adams’s style, now well developed, partakes of the techniques of
minimalist music, much in vogue during the 1970s and ’80s; of a
neo-Romantic palette of harmonies and orchestral textures
derived, in part, from Jean Sibelius, a composer Adams deeply
admires; and of a distinctly American character, discernable not
only in occasional references to our popular music but more
generally in the rhythmic energy and vibrant manner of
orchestration that marks his music. Although some of Adams’s
work conveys an almost brash exuberance, he has also given us
more sober expression, as in his cantata The Wound-Dresser,
a setting of one of Walt Whitman’s Civil War poems. Moreover,
Adams has shown himself adept at working on a large scale, with
operas and substantial orchestral and choral compositions to his
credit.
Composing music in response to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, might seem a daunting prospect, but Adams leaped at the opportunity presented by the Philharmonic commission. “I didn’t require any time at all to decide whether or not to do it,” the composer recalled. “I knew immediately that I very much wanted to do this piece--in fact I needed to do it…. Being given the opportunity to make a work of art that would speak directly to people’s emotions allowed me not only to come to grips personally with all that had happened but also gave me a chance to give something to others.”
The result was On the Transmigration of Souls, a large single-movement composition scored for chorus, orchestra, and pre-recorded soundtrack that includes urban street noises: sounds of traffic, voices, doors clanging, and the like. The text for the work derives from three sources. One is a partial list of names of those who perished in the 9/11 attack, read by voices of diverse timbres and pre-recorded and layered in what Adams describes as a “mantra-like” fashion. The rest of the text, sung by the chorus and children’s choir, comes from personal reminiscences, principally drawn from interviews appearing in the “Portraits of Grief” series in The New York Times, and from some of the many signs posted in downtown Manhattan by relatives of persons missing after the attack. “These signs,” Adams says, “had tremendous poignancy. Most had been hastily written and photocopied, usually with a snapshot photo along with a physical description and often a heart-wrenching little message at the end, something like ‘Please come home, Louie. We miss you and we love you.’”
Although On the Transmigration of Souls clearly is connected to the events of 9/11, Adams insists that it is not a “requiem” in any commonly understood sense of that term. Instead, he prefers to call the piece a “memory space,” adding, “it’s a place where you can go and be alone with your thoughts and emotions.” Elaborating on this notion, Adams explained:
My desire in writing this piece [was] to achieve in musical terms the same sort of feeling one gets upon entering one of those old, majestic cathedrals in France or Italy. When you walk into the Chartres Cathedral, for example, you experience an immediate sense of something otherworldly. You feel you are in the presence of many souls, generations upon generations of them, and you sense their collected energy as if they were all congregated or clustered in that one spot. And even though you might be with a group of people, or the cathedral itself filled with other churchgoers or tourists, you feel very much alone with your thoughts and you find them focused in a most extraordinary and spiritual way.
The work begins quietly, with audio-recorded street sounds and a voice intoning, in an almost factual manner, “missing… missing… missing.” Then begins a litany of names of those who perished on 9/11. (Interestingly, a comparable recitation occurs, with comparably elegiac effect, in another contemporary American composition concerned with loss, the Symphony No. 1, “Of Rage and Remembrance,” by John Corigliano. That work includes a passage where names of persons who have succumbed to AIDS may be read over ongoing orchestral music.) The music that slides in, almost imperceptibly, under this spoken-word collage evokes the transcendental style of Charles Ives, another composer of considerable importance to Adams. (There is even an explicit reference to Ives’s most famous piece, The Unanswered Question, in the trumpet melody that floats through a mist of voices and quiet orchestral accompaniment during the first portion of the composition.) For minutes on end Adams maintains a slowly changing aural tapestry, one that conveys a dream-like atmosphere conducive to contemplation or, perhaps, subliminal receptivity to the emotional implications of the text. Only late into the approximately 25-minute composition does the orchestra unleash a sustained burst of seemingly pent-up energy, propelling the music forward on the kind of rapid motor-rhythms that Adams has made a musical signature. The chorus joins in, intoning frantically, or ecstatically, the words “light” and “sky.”
This musical irruption is, however, short-lived. Calm comes once more upon the proceedings, and the chorus turns to words of family, of connection, of love. Both the music and text are, in the end, consoling and life-affirming. Here it is worth noting Adams’s explanation of the composition’s title. The phrase “transmigration of souls,” he states, is meant to imply not just “the transition from living to dead, but also the change that takes place within the souls of those that stay behind, of those who suffer pain and loss and then themselves come away from that experience transformed.”
Johannes Brahms’s Ein
deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), and particularly its
first performance, in April 1868, marked a turning point
in the career of a composer who would go on to become one of the
dominant musical figures of the late 19th century. Prior to the
unveiling of this work, Brahms had been a promising young
musician whose potential remained unrealized. In its wake, he
stood in the front rank of contemporary composers.
Although most of the composition of
Ein deutsches Requiem dates from the mid-1860s, the
genesis of the piece can be traced back more than a decade prior
to its premiere. Shortly after the death of his mentor and early
champion, Robert Schumann, in 1856, Brahms had reworked a
discarded slow movement of his D-minor Piano Concerto into a
choral setting of the biblical verses “Denn alles Fleisch es ist
wie Gras” (“For all flesh is as grass”), which eventually became
the second movement of the Requiem. It was, however, the
passing of Brahms’s mother, in February 1865, that provided the
impetus for a larger work. The loss of this closest member of
his family deeply affected the composer, and it seems that he
could ease his grief only by throwing himself into a project
concerned with facing death and, ultimately, overcoming it.
Ein deutsches Requiem occupied Brahms through much of 1865 and 1866, during which time he showed the work-in-progress to other musicians. One was Karl Reinthaler, director of music at the Bremen cathedral, who in October 1867 wrote to Brahms, offering his ensemble and church for a performance on Good Friday the following year. Reinthaler wanted Brahms to expand the composition and give it a more conventionally theological slant. “From a Christian perspective,” Reinthaler argued, “it lacks the point around which everything rotates, namely the saving death of the Lord.” Brahms politely declined this suggestion but accepted Reinthaler’s offer for a performance in Bremen.
Friends and acquaintances of the composer from all over Germany and Austria came to the Bremen cathedral to hear the nominal premiere of Ein deutsches Requiem on Good Friday, 1868. Brahms’s father traveled from Hamburg, old and valued musical colleagues such as Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim also attended, and the women’s choir that Brahms had conducted years earlier in Hamburg arrived to assist in the performance. Accordingly, a certain sense of intimacy attended the event. Members of the audience, moved by the music and by their familiarity with the composer, wept openly at various points, and the work’s conclusion prompted an outpouring of enthusiasm that reflected personal affection as much as artistic admiration. The success of the piece established Brahms almost overnight as one of the most important composers in Europe.
Despite its name, this work is not a Requiem Mass in the proper sense of that term, since its words are taken from the scriptures rather than the Latin liturgy of the Mass for the Dead. Brahms felt little sympathy for organized religion, and he answered Reinthaler’s plea that he make the work more specifically Christian in character by declaring that he considered the composition a “human requiem.” And so, instead of liturgical verses, Brahms carefully selected passages from the Old and New Testaments, arranging them so that each movement would have a very specific emotional character and contribute to the overall dramatic shape of his work. This shape can be compared to a Gothic arch: the first and final movements resemble each other in tone, as do the second and sixth, and the third and fifth movements; the fourth movement acts as a keystone, crowning the arch and unifying the entire structure.
In the opening, “Selig sind, die da Leid tragen” (“Blessed are they that mourn”), Brahms achieves a remarkably dark tone color by emphasizing the sound of the low strings, the violin section remaining silent. Brahms originally conceived the second movement as the slow movement of his early D-minor Piano Concerto, op. 15. Dissatisfied with its orchestration, he excised it from the concerto but later reworked the music into a choral setting of verses from 1 Peter (1:24).
An anguished plea for guidance that alternates between baritone soloist and the chorus begins the third movement, “Herr, lehre doch mich” (“Lord, make me to know”). The mood turns to hope on the line “Ich hoffe auf dich” (“My hope is in thee”), leading to a spirited double fugue at the conclusion.
The centerpiece of the composition, “Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” (“How lovely are thy tabernacles”), is a serene song for the chorus. In the ensuing fifth movement, Brahms seems to speak of the loss of his mother, whose death, early in 1865, apparently motivated the composition of Ein deutsches Requiem.
Visions of the Last Judgment form a crucial part of the traditional Mass for the Dead, and Brahms upholds this tradition in the sixth movement. Following a brief choral introduction, the baritone soloist introduces the passage from Corinthians relating St. Paul’s vision of the final day, “Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnes” (“Behold, I show you a mystery”). At the words “zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune” (“At the last trumpet”), hell vividly breaks loose, as swirling figures in the violins and demonic outbursts from the brass accompany Paul’s vision. Many listeners will recall that Handel set this same text in his Messiah, but the propulsive rhythms Brahms employs here create a more visceral effect than that composer’s stylized representation. Brahms concludes this sixth movement, as he had the third, with a magnificent fugal passage, this time to the comforting verses that begin “Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?” (“O death, where is thy sting?”).
The final movement of Ein deutsches Requiem commences with the same sort of subdued harmonies and instrumentation that began the opening chorus. The words, too, are similar, and the melody introduced by the sopranos closely resembles one heard in the first movement. As if to confirm this sense of coming full circle, Brahms concludes his final movement as he did the first, with harp arpeggios accompanying reassuring music for the chorus.
Program notes © 2006 by Paul Schiavo
TEXTS
On the Transmigration of Souls
(except where noted, phrases come from missing-persons posters photographed by Barbara Haws, archivist for the New York Philharmonic)
“Missing .
. .”
“Remember me. Please don’t ever forget me.”
“It was a beautiful day.”
“Missing: Jennifer de Jesus”
“Missing: Manuel Damotta”
“I see water and buildings . . .” (Quoted in numerous sources;
last words of flight attendant on AA #11)
“We will miss you. We all love you. I’ll miss you, my brother.”
“Jeff was my uncle.”
“You will never be forgotten.”
“Looking for Isaias Rivera.”
“Windows on the World”
“She looks so full of life in that picture.”
“It feels like yesterday that I saw your beautiful face . . .”
“I loved him from the start.”
“You will never be forgotten.”
“I miss his gentleness, his intelligence, his loyalty, his love.”
“Shalom”
“Remember”
The daughter says: “He was the apple of my father’s eye.” (New
York Times “Portraits in Grief”)
The father says: “I am so full of grief. My heart is absolutely
shattered.” (New York Times “Portraits in Grief”)
The young man says: “. . . he was tall, extremely good-looking,
and girls never talked to me when he was around.” (New York
Times “Portraits in Grief”)
The neighbor says: “She had a voice like an angel, and she shared
it with everyone, in good times and bad.” (New York Times
“Portraits in Grief”)
The mother says: “He used to call me every day. I’m just waiting.”
The lover says: “Tomorrow will be three months, yet it feels like
yesterday since I saw your beautiful face, saying, ‘Love you to
the moon and back, forever.’” (New York Times “Portraits in
Grief”)
The man’s wife says: “I loved him from the start. . . . I wanted
to dig him out. I know just where he is.” (New York Times
“Portraits in Grief”)
“Louis Anthony Williams. One World Trade Center. Port Authority,
66th Floor. ‘We love you, Louis. Come home.”
“Charlie Murphy. Cantor Fitzgerald. 105th Floor. Tower One North.
Weight : 180 pounds. Height: 5’11”. Eye color: hazel. Hair color:
brown. Date of birth: July ninth, 1963. Please call . . .’We love
you, Chick.’”
“Light . . . day . . . sky”
“My sister.”
“My brother.”
“My daughter.”
“My son.”
“Best friend to many . . .”
“I love you.”
The Names:
John Florio
Christina Flannery
Lucy Fishman
Richard Fitzsimmons
David Fodor
Sal A. Fiumefreddo
Carl Flickinger
Eileen Flecha
Jane S. Beatty
Manuel Da Mota
Maurice Barry
James Patrick Berger
Marilyn C. Bautista
Jacquelyn P. Sanchez
Kenneth W. Basnicki
Lt. Michael Fodor
Guy Barzvi
Oliver Bennett
Eric Bennett
Charlie Murphy
Jeffrey Coombs
Domingo Benilda
Manette Marie Beckles
Paul James Battaglia
Thomas J. Fisher
Alysia Basmajian
Ivan Luis Carpo Bautista
Kalyan K. Sarkar
John Bergin
Mario Santoro
Herman Sandler
Maurice Barry
Michael Beekman
Andre Fletcher
Bryan Craig Bennett
Inna Basina
Jasper Baxter
Lt. Steven J. Bates
John Santore
Denise Benedetto
Joseph W. Flounders
Jennifer de Jesus
Donna Bernaerts-Kearns
Karleton Fyfe
Gregroy Salzedo
John Fabian
Kevin D. Marlo
Michael LaForte
David Fontana
Nicholas C. Lassman
Paul Rizza
Donald A. Foreman
Juan Garcia
Alisha Caren Levine
Frederick Gabler
Betsy Martinez
Giann F. Gamboa
Peter J. Ganci
Brian E. Martineau
Grace Galante
James Martello
David S. Barry
Dominick J. Berardi
Alexis Leduc
Brian Magee
Christopher Larrabee
Daniel Maher
Denis Lavelle
Edward J. Lehman
Elena Ledesma
Eugene Lazar
Gary E. Lasko
Hamidou S. Larry
James Leahy
Juanita Lee
Janine LaVerde
Jeffrey Latouche
John D. Levi
John Adam Larson
John J. Lennon
Jorge Luis Leon
compiled by John Adams
copyright © 2002 by John Adams
Ein deutsches Requiem
I. Selig sind, die da Leid tragen
(Chorus)
Selig sind, die da Leid tragen,
denn sie sollen getröstet werden.
(Matthew 5:4)
Die mit Tränen säen,
werden mit Freuden ernten.
Sie gehen hin und weinen
und tragen edlen Samen,
und kommen mit Freuden
und bringen ihre Garben.
(Psalm 126:5-6)
I. Blessed are they that mourn (Chorus)
Blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
(Matthew 5:4)
They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy.
He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him.
(Psalm 126:5-6)
II. Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
(Chorus)
Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras
und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen
wie des Grases Blumen.
Das Gras ist verdorret
und die Blume abgefallen.
(1 Peter 1:24-25)
So seid nun geduldig, lieben Brüder,
bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
auf die köstliche Frucht der Erde
und ist geduldig darüber,
bis er empfahe den Morgenregen und Abendregen.
(James 5:7)
Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit.
(1 Peter 1:25)
Die Erlöseten des Herrn werden wiederkommen,
und gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen;
Freude, ewige Freude, wird über ihrem Haupte
sein;
Freude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen,
und Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg müssen.
(Isaiah 35:10)
II. For all flesh is as grass (Chorus)
For all flesh is as grass,
and all the glory of man
as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth,
and the flower thereof falleth away.
(1 Peter 1:24-25)
Be patient therefore, brethren,
unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth
for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it,
until he receive
the early and latter rain.
(James 5:7)
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.
(1 Peter 1:25)
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
and come to Zion with songs
and everlasting joy upon their heads:
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
(Isaiah 35:10)
III. Herr, lehre doch mich (Baritone
Solo and Chorus)
Herr, lehre doch mich, daß ein Ende
mit mir haben muß, und mein Leben
ein Ziel hat und ich davon muß.
Siehe, meine Tage sind einer Hand breit vor
dir,
und mein Leben ist wie nichts vor dir.
Ach, wie gar nichts sind alle Menschen,
die doch so sicher leben.
Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen,
und machen ihnen viel vergebliche Unruhe;
sie sammeln und wissen nicht
wer es kriegen wird.
Nun Herr, wes soll ich mich trösten?
Ich hoffe auf dich.
(Psalm 39:4-7)
Der Gerechten Seelen
sind in Gottes Hand
und keine Qual rühret sie an.
(Song of Solomon 3:1)
III. Lord, make me to know mine end
(Baritone Solo and Chorus)
Lord, make me to know mine end,
and the measure of my days, what it is;
that I may know how frail I am.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth;
and mine age is as nothing before thee:
verily every man at his best state
is altogether vanity.
Surely every man walketh in a vain shew:
surely they are disquieted in vain:
he heapeth up riches,
and knoweth not who shall gather them.
And now, Lord, what wait I for?
My hope is in thee.
(Psalm 39:4-7)
But the souls of the righteous
are in the hand of God
and there shall no torment touch them.
(Song of Solomon 3:1)
IV. Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen
(Chorus)
Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen,
Herr Zebaoth!
Meine Seele verlanget und sehnet sich
nach den Vorhöfen des Herrn;
mein Leib und Seele freuen sich
in dem lebendigen Gott.
Wohl denen, die in deinem Hause wohnen,
die loben dich immerdar.
(Psalm 84:1-2, 4)
IV. How lovely are thy tabernacles (Chorus)
How lovely are thy tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord:
my heart and my flesh crieth out
for the living God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:
they will be still praising thee.
(Psalm 84:1-2, 4)
V. Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit (Soprano
Solo and Chorus)
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit;
aber ich will euch wiedersehen,
und euer Herz soll sich freuen,
und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen.
(John 16:22)
Ich will euch trösten,
wie einen seine Mutter tröstet.
(Isaiah 66:13)
Sehet mich an: ich habe eine kleine
Zeit Mühe und Arbeit gehabt
und habe großen Trost funden.
(Ecclesiastes 51:27)
V. And ye now therefore have sorrow
(Soprano Solo and Chorus)
And ye now therefore have sorrow;
but I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice,
and your joy no man taketh from you.
(John 16:22)
As one whom his mother comforteth,
so will I comfort you.
(Isaiah 66:13)
Ye see how for a little while
I labour and toil,
yet have I found much rest.
(Ecclesiastes) 51:27
VI. Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt
(Baritone Solo and Chorus)
Denn wir haben hie keine bleibende Statt,
sondern die zukünftige suchen wir.
(Hebrews 13:14)
Siehe, ich sage euch ein Geheimnis:
Wir werden nicht alle entschlafen,
wir werden aber alle verwandelt werden;
und dasselbige plötzlich in einem Augenblick,
zu der Zeit der letzten Posaune.
Denn es wird die Posaune schallen
und die Toten werden auferstehen unverweslich;
und wir werden verwandelt werden.
Dann wird erfüllet werden das Wort,
das geschrieben steht:
Der Tod ist verschlungen in den Sieg.
Tod, wo ist dein Stachel?
Hölle, wo ist dein Sieg?
(Cornithians 15:51-2, 54-5)
Herr, du bist würdig
zu nehmen Preis und Ehre und Kraft,
denn du hast alle Dinge erschaffen,
und durch deinen Willen
haben sie das Wesen und sind geschaffen.
(Revelations 4:11)
VI. For here have we no continuing city (Baritone Solo and Chorus)
For here have we no continuing city,
but we seek one to come.
(Hebrews 13:14)
Behold, I show you a mystery:
we shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump.
For the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying
that is written:
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
(Corinthians 15:51-2, 54-5)
Thou art worthy, O Lord,
to receive glory and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure
they are and were created.
(Revelations 4:11)
VII. Selig sind die Toten (Chorus)
Selig sind die Toten,
die in dem Herren sterben, von nun an.
Ja, der Geist spricht,
daß sie ruhen von ihrer Arbeit;
denn ihre Werke folgen ihnen nach.
(Revelations 14:13)
VII. Blessed are the dead (Chorus)
Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord, from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors;
and their works do follow them.
(Revelations 14:13)
[English texts are from the King James Version of
the Bible.]
