On the Death of the Righteous

Last updated

On the Death of the Righteous is a composition for choir and orchestra set to the text of John Donne by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Mendelssohn Club in 2009 to celebrate Alan Harler's 20th season as their music director. The piece was first performed on March 29, 2009, by the Mendelssohn Club orchestra and choir under the conductor Alan Harler. [1] [2]

Contents

Composition

On the Death of the Righteous has a duration of roughly 12 minutes and is composed in a single movement. The music is set to text from the sermons of the 16th-century poet John Donne. In the score program notes, Higdon wrote:

Finding a text to be a part of a piece that would share a program with Verdi's "Requiem" was an interesting challenge, and led me to the works of John Donne, a 16th-century poet and preacher. I realized I needed something that would respect a requiem’s definition, which is to be a mass for the dead. Coming upon Mr. Donne's sermons, I discovered a particular text that describes the non-judgmental quality of a death of one who is righteous... this seemed an appropriate emotional angle to precede a requiem. [1]

She continued, "Of course, the challenge for the composer is creating an emotional state that is equal to the text’s, and thus a music of enough weight and seriousness, without being particularly dark; to be lacking in judgment in musical sound and to reflect the even balance of opposites, upon the death of the righteous." [1]

Instrumentation

The work is scored for SATB chorus and an orchestra comprising three flutes (third doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets, four bassoons, four horns, five trumpets, three piccolo trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, one percussionist, and strings. [3]

Reception

Reviewing the world premiere, Daniel Webster of The Philadelphia Inquirer lauded, "Higdon faced a huge problem: How to compete with Verdi? Her solution was studied, but also (probably) joyfully indulgent. She had at her disposal Verdi's orchestra with massive percussion, expanded winds, and all the trumpets of heaven." Webster added, "In a sense she did not compete, but found in John Donne's serene musing on death the basis for another mood, another kind of music. That was an impressive achievement, for her music stayed in the ear, even after Verdi's titanic immersion in emotion and color." [2] Reviewing a later recording of the piece, Olivia Giovetti of WQXR-FM similarly wrote:

In Jennifer Higdon's album-opening On the Death of the Righteous, you hear echoes of Verdian splendor with Britten-like modesty, unsurprising on both counts as Higdon wrote the work to accompany the former's Requiem and set it to the text of John Donne, a favorite source material for the latter. However, Higdon's own brand of unsettling sonorities, playful percusiveness and indulgently buoyant musical lines dominate the tone here. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Requiem (Verdi)</span> 1874 musical setting of the funeral mass

The Messa da Requiem is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired, and therefore also referred to as the Manzoni Requiem. The first performance, at the San Marco church in Milan on 22 May 1874, conducted by the composer, marked the first anniversary of Manzoni's death. It was followed three days later by the same performers at La Scala. Verdi conducted his work at major venues in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Higdon</span> American composer (born 1962)

Jennifer Elaine Higdon is an American composer of contemporary classical music. She has received many awards, including the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her Violin Concerto and three Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Classical Composition for her Percussion Concerto in 2010, Viola Concerto in 2018, and Harp Concerto in 2020. Elected a Member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019, she was a professor of composition at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1994 to 2021.

Václav Nelhýbel was a Czech-American composer, mainly of works for student performers.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem is a requiem mass, which premiered in 1985. It was written in memory of the composer's father, William Lloyd Webber, who died in 1982.

Antonín Dvořák's Requiem in B♭ minor, Op. 89, B. 165, is a funeral Mass scored for soloists, choir and orchestra. It was composed in 1890 and performed for the first time on 9 October 1891, in Birmingham, England, with the composer conducting.

<i>When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomd</i> (Hindemith) 1946 composition by Paul Hindemith

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem for those we love(An American Requiem) is a 1946 oratorio by composer Paul Hindemith, based on the poem of the same name by Walt Whitman. It is the first musical work to include the entirety of Whitman's 1865 poem. Conductor Robert Shaw and the Robert Shaw Chorale commissioned the work after the 1945 death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It received its world premiere on May 14, 1946, at New York City Center, with the Collegiate Chorale conducted by Shaw and soloists Mona Paulee, contralto, and George Burnson, baritone. Paulee performed the work again with bass-baritone Chester Watson and the CBS Symphony Orchestra for the work's first recorded broadcast on CBS Radio on June 30, 1946.

Jennifer Higdon's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra was written in 2008. The work was jointly commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the Curtis Institute of Music. It was composed for the violinist Hilary Hahn and was given its world premiere by Hahn and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Mario Venzago on February 6, 2009. The piece was later awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

Steven Sametz is an American conductor and composer. He has been hailed as "one of the most respected choral composers in America". Since 1979, he has been on the faculty of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he holds the Ronald J. Ulrich Chair in Music and is Director of Choral Activities and is founding director of the Lehigh University Choral Union. Since 1998, he has served as Artistic Director of the professional a cappella ensemble, The Princeton Singers. He is also the founding director of the Lehigh University Summer Choral Composers' Forum. In 2012, he was named Chair of the American Choral Directors Association Composition Advisory Committee.

The Concerto for Orchestra is an orchestral composition in five movements by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra with contributions from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Philadelphia Music Project, and Peter Benoliel. It was premiered at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia June 12, 2002, with conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch leading the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Concerto 4-3 is a concerto for two violins, double bass, and orchestra in three movements by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned for the string trio Time for Three by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra. It was first performed in Philadelphia on January 10, 2008, by Time for Three and the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Christoph Eschenbach.

Dooryard Bloom is a composition for solo baritone and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 2004 and was premiered on April 16, 2005, by the baritone Nmon Ford and the Brooklyn Philharmonic under the conductor Michael Christie. The piece is adapted from the poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" by the American author Walt Whitman.

Fanfare Ritmico is a single-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by The Women's Philharmonic as part of The Fanfares Project. It was given its world premiere in March 2000 by conductor Apo Hsu and the Women's Philharmonic.

Loco is an orchestral composition in one movement by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Ravinia Festival of Highland Park, Illinois to commemorate the Ravinia train as part of the Train Commission Project. It was first performed on July 31, 2004, at the Ravinia Festival by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The Singing Rooms is a concerto for solo violin, choir, and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was jointly commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra. It was first performed on January 17, 2008 in Philadelphia by the violinist Jennifer Koh, The Philadelphia Singers, and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the conductor Christoph Eschenbach. The text of the piece is set to poems by Jeanne Minahan. The piece was most recently done in March 2019 at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia by the Temple University Choirs and Orchestra, with a featured violin soloist.

The Oboe Concerto is a concerto for a solo oboe and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Minnesota Commissioning Club and was premiered on September 9, 2005 by the oboist Kathy Greenbank and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Higdon later reworked the piece into her Soprano Sax Concerto in 2007.

The Soprano Sax Concerto is a concerto for soprano saxophone and orchestra by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was originally commissioned by the Minnesota Commissioning Club as Higdon's Oboe Concerto and was premiered by oboist Kathy Greenbank and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra in 2005. Higdon later reworked the composition, however, and the piece was premiered in its form as a saxophone concerto on August 3, 2007 at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music by the saxophonist Timothy McAllister and the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra under the conductor Marin Alsop.

blue cathedral is an orchestral composition by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned by the Curtis Institute of Music in 1999 to commemorate the conservatory's 75th anniversary. It was first performed in 2000 by the Curtis Institute of Music Symphony Orchestra. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Higdon's brother and is one of the composer's most performed works.

Machine is a single-movement orchestral encore piece by the American composer Jennifer Higdon. The work was commissioned in 2003 by the National Symphony Orchestra through a grant from the John and June Hechinger Commissioning Fund for New Orchestra Works. It was first performed by the National Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Giancarlo Guerrero on March 6, 2003.

The Requiem is a composition for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by the American composer John Harbison. Composed over a period of seventeen years, the complete work was finished in 2002 on a commission from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Its world premiere was given by the soprano Christine Brewer, mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore, tenor Paul Groves, baritone Jonathan Lemalu the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Bernard Haitink on March 6, 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Requiem (Donizetti)</span>

The Messa da requiem in D minor (1835) is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass (Requiem) by Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is scored for five soloists, mixed chorus and orchestra. A performance lasts about 62–75 minutes.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Higdon, Jennifer (2009). On the Death of the Righteous: Program Note. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Webster, Daniel (March 31, 2009). "Two stirring requiems: One old, the other new". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Theodore Front Musical Literature - On The Death Of The Righteous : For SATB Chorus and Orchestra". www.tfront.com. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
  4. ↑ Giovetti, Olivia (March 23, 2012). "The Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia Gets Vibrantly Vocal". WQXR-FM . Retrieved September 14, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.