Requiem (Wilberg)

Mack Wilberg's Requiem is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, a soprano and a baritone soloist. Wilberg began composition in 2006 and it was premiered in 2007 in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] It comprises seven movements, which together last thirty-four minutes. It was published in 2008 by Oxford University Press.[2]

Requiem
Sacred vocal music by Mack Wilberg
Score Cover
Text
Language
  • Latin
  • Greek
  • English
Performed27 April 2007 (2007-04-27): Salt Lake City, UT
Published2008 (2008): Oxford University Press
Movements7

The cover art of the album and the score displays the stained glass of the Chapel of Thanksgiving in Dallas, TX, created by Gabriel Loire.

History

Wilberg completed Requiem in 2007. He called it a "requiem for the living."[3] Wilberg was first inspired to write a full requiem after Craig Jessop commissioned him to write an Introit and Epilogue for a performance of Vaughan Williams’s cantata, Dona nobis pacem, at Carnegie Hall's National High School Choral Festival on March 14, 2006. Wilberg later decided to compose other movements to fill the requiem, culminating in its premiere performance in April 2007, and later a CD recording, with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, and soloists Frederica von Stade and Bryn Terfel.[4]

Music

Wilberg scored the Requiem for mixed choir, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist. Wilberg structured the work in seven movements, similar to the setting of John Rutter. It switches between English and Latin throughout.

Orchestration

3 flutes (flute 3 doubles piccolo), 2 oboes (double 2 English horns), 2 clarinets in Bb, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, celeste (glockenspiel in absence of celeste), harp, piano, organ (optional), violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, double bass

Table of movements

The following table shows the title, tempo marking, voices, time, key and text sources for the seven movements. The information is given for the beginning of the movements. Wilberg maintains triple time signatures throughout the whole work with mostly slow tempi, but he involves frequent, complex key changes from movement to movement. The source for the details is the vocal score, unless otherwise noted.[5]

Movements of Wilberg's Requiem
No. Title Tempo marking Vocal Time Key Text source
1Requiem aeternamSlowly, with mystical expressionChorus3
2
half note=46		harmonic planing
ends D Major		Introit
2KyrieWith intensity and outcryChorus
Baritone		9
8
dotted quarter note.=72		polytonal, F# minor, A melodic minorKyrie & English Translation
3I Will Lift Up Mine EyesWith contemplationChorus
Baritone		3
2
half note=50		harmonic planing ends in B MajorPsalm 121
4How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling PlaceModerately, with motionSoprano w/ flute solo3
2
half note=76		polytonal with Eb pentatonic minor melodyPsalm 84
5O nata luxLuminousChorus3
2
half note=69		D# minorAn ancient Catholic text used for the Feast of the Transfiguration[6]
6The Lord is my shepherdWith ExpressionBaritone3
2
half note=72		F minorPsalms 23
7I am the resurrection and the life—Requiem aeternumWith expressionChorus3
2
half note=66		Multiple, ends in E MajorJohn 11:25-26
Introit

1: Requiem aeternam

The first movement consists of the Introit from the Requiem mass ("Requiem aeternam").[7]

This text originates from 4 Esdras 2:34–35 [8]

2: Kyrie

The second movement is entitled Kyrie. It begins with choir singing in Greek, and then transitions to Baritone soloist singing in English.[9]

3: I will lift up mine eyes

The third movement is I will lift up mine eyes. It is set for Baritone solo.[10]

4: How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place

The central movement is "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place." It is set for Mezzo-Soprano with flute solo.[11]

5: O nata lux

The fifth movement is "O nata lux." It is set for choir and orchestra, with harp solo.[12]

6: The Lord is my shepherd

The sixth movement is "The Lord is my shepherd." It is set for Baritone solo.[13] It is interesting to note that Wilberg departs from his traditional KJV translation of biblical texts.

7: I am the resurrection and the life—Requiem aeternum

The seventh movement is titled "I am the resurrection and the life—Requiem aeternum." It set for choir and orchestra, and switches from first an English text to then a Latin text. The choir first sings John 11:25-26 and then the Introit from the Requiem Mass.[14]

References
  1. "A new requiem performed by choir". Church News. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
  2. Mack Wilberg, Requiem. Oxford University Press. 24 September 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-380453-1. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  3. Hansen, Greg (2008). "Reviewed work: Requiem and Other Choral Works. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, Mack Wilberg". Brigham Young University Studies. 47 (4): 182–184. JSTOR 43044686. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  4. "Music Vital in Bringing Comfort". Church News. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  5. Score 2008, pp. 1–72.
  6. "O nata lux - ChoralWiki". www.cpdl.org.
  7. Score 2008, pp. 1–10.
  8. "2 Esdras, chapter 2, verse 34". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
  9. Score 2008, pp. 11–20.
  10. Score 2008, pp. 21–26.
  11. Score 2008, pp. 27–44.
  12. Score 2008, pp. 35–53.
  13. Score 2008, pp. 45–53.
  14. Score 2008, pp. 54–64.
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