About the Piece

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Written for and premiered by the Denver Pro Chorale under the direction of Dr. Michael J. Kornelsen. Dedicated to Cherise Leiter and the Denver Pro Chorale. Premiered on April 17th, 2015 at the Church of the Ascension in Denver, CO.

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The Story

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After a successful premiere of my piece, "Sanctus" by the Denver Pro Chorale, Dr. Kornelson made a joke: "So when are we going to perform your entire Requiem?" This set me off over the next 8 months, furiously writing the largest and most complex work I had ever crafted at that time, "Requiem."

 

The "Pie Jesu" serves as the first movement of the second section of my Requiem, titled "The Perished." It's here that the souls of the departed are starting to aimlessly wander, having finally moved on from Earth. This particular movement uses a lot of polyphony to represent this directionless wandering, also creating moments of tension that don't quite resolve (at least, not in the way one might expect). The extended version adds a middle section, a mirror-like reflection of the first section but this time in the relative major key.

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Listen:

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See the Score:

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Text:

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Latin

Catholic Mass (From the "Dies Irae" hymn)

 

Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem sempiternam.

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Order the Music: