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I. Requiem aeternam 4:440:00/4:44
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II. Kyrie 4:290:00/4:29
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III. Offertory 7:460:00/7:46
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0:00/2:50
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V. Agnus Dei 3:220:00/3:22
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VI. Night Piece 2:490:00/2:49
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VII. In paradisum 4:550:00/4:55
Requiem
for SATB Chorus, Soloists and Orchestra in Seven Movements
"Dehlinger shapes music to illuminate the meaning of the text...and the writing is rich, often rapturous."
—Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone
TITLE
Requiem in Seven Movements for
SATB Chorus, Soprano and Bass-Baritone Soloists & Orchestra
DURATION
32 minutes
YEAR OF COMPOSITION
2021
INSTRUMENTATION
2(I&II picc).2.2.2 - 4.2.2.0 - timp.perc: glsp/xyl/t.bells/tgl/cyms/susp.cym/SD/BD/tam-t - strings
LICENSING
American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)
WORLD PREMIERE
Fall 2022
PURCHASE
Available 2022
in loving memory of Neil Dellar (1958-2020)
COMPOSER'S NOTE
Composed in loving memory of my friend Neil Dellar, who passed away suddenly on September 3, 2020, Requiem is my partial setting of the Latin Mass for the dead, or Missa pro defunctis, for mixed chorus, soprano and bass-baritone soloists, and orchestra.
I wrote it with the voices of Choralis, the Washington, DC-area chorus under the direction of Gretchen Kuhrmann (who will mount the premiere in fall 2022), soprano Danielle Talamantes, and bass-baritone Kerry Wilkerson in mind. All were near and dear to Neil, a corporate lawyer with a splendid baritone voice who was also active on the board of Choralis.
A standard rendition lasts about 32 minutes and is comprised of seven movements. Six are settings of traditional Latin texts from the Roman Missal: I. Requiem aeternam, II. Kyrie, III. Offertory, IV. Sanctus and Benedictus, V. Agnus Dei, and VII. In paradisum. While I was inspired by its many great predecessors, I decided to use a fresh and contemporary compositional style, while preserving the sacred and liturgical purpose of the text.
Partially hidden in the aural tapestry is a brief pastiche or two from some of Neil's favorite classical music works. I hope his family and friends will delight in uncovering them. Naturally, all are in the public domain except one, and it's mine.
The sixth movement is a new choral and orchestral arrangement of Night Piece, a setting of the eponymous poem by Irish poet James Joyce, which I composed in 2019 as part of an art song cycle for voice and piano. Neil was quite fond of the song. Replete with ecclesiastical imagery, it also seemed like a fitting, non-liturgical prelude to the final movement, In paradisum.
Requiescat in pace, Neil.