Sanctuary Choir & Orchestra
A worshipful concert focused on the struggle with pain and grief
that can at times challenge our faith but draw us closer to the presence of Christ
Home Rehearsal Aids
Stephen's Introduction to the LATIN Text
I. Introit-Kyrie
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Hear my prayer, for unto Thee all flesh shall come.
Lord have mercy; Christ have mercy;
Lord have mercy.
Audio recorded by the Rivertree Singers and Orchestra, 2014
II. Vanitas Vanitatum
[from Ecclesiastes] Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!
[from the Dies Irae] Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest.
Full of tears, [from Job 3:2-3] He said, Let the day perish wherein I was born.
Audio recorded by the Rivertree Singers and Orchestra, 2014
III. Agnus Dei
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us; grant them rest.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,
grant us peace; have mercy on us; grant them rest.
Audio recorded by the Rivertree Singers and Orchestra, 2014
IV. Sanctus
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Audio recorded by the Rivertree Singers and Orchestra, 2014
V. Lux Aeterna
May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord,
in the company of Thy saints forever:
for Thou art merciful.
Let perpetual light shine on them.
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Grant us peace.
Audio recorded by the Rivertree Singers and Orchestra, 2014
Stephen's Closing Thoughts
Requiem for the Living
Presented in its entirety by the Rivertree Singers & Friends, June 28, 2014
Rivertree Singers, founded in 2010, is a choral ensemble of young professionals who love living and working in Greenville, SC. The name reflects a love for the beautiful trees and river that have been the inspiration for the city’s model revitalization. The singers are alumni of collegiate choral organizations at Converse College, Erskine College, Presbyterian College, Winthrop University, Bob Jones University, Furman University and the University of South Carolina. They share a passion for choral singing and the belief that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Known for expressive performances of serious choral music and spirited renditions of folk and popular song, Rivertree Singers enriches Greenville’s thriving arts community with a three-concert season of downtown performances. Commissioning and promoting works by emerging choral composers further extends the choir’s mission to delight and inspire through singing.
...and another excellent presentation of Requiem for the Living
by the Bob Jones University Chorale and Chamber Orchestra
Due to the smaller ensemble and chamber orchestra accompaniment and microphones placed closer to the singers, you might be able to hear the articulation of the lyric better than in the Rivertree video presentation
A word from Dan Forrest, composer of Requiem for the Living
A Requiem, at its core, is a prayer for rest, traditionally, for the deceased. The five movements of Dan Forrest's Requiem for the Living, (2013), however, form a narrative just as much for the living, and their own struggle with pain and sorrow, as for the dead.
The opening movement sets the traditional Introit and Kyrie texts- pleas for rest and mercy- using ever-increasing elaborations on a simple three-note descending pattern. It faces grief head on and grapples with sorrow that is common to all human existence.
The second movement, instead of the traditional Dies Irae, sets Scriptural texts that speak of the turmoil and sorrow which face humanity, while yet invoking musical and textual allusions to the Dies Irae. This movement juxtaposes aggressive rhythmic gestures with long, floating melodic lines, including quotes of the Kyrie from the first movement. It bitterly portrays the problem of pain that all wrestle with and which causes a crisis of faith for many people.
The Agnus Dei is performed next (a departure from the usual liturgical order) as a plea for deliverance and peace. At this point in the narrative, we see the Lamb of God who died to redeem mankind from all fallenness -- vanity, pain, sorrow and destruction...
Following the plea for absolute peace and deliverance -- the redemption, is the Sanctus. It becomes a response to this redemption. The Sanctus offers three different glimpses of the "heavens and earth, full of Thy glory", all of which develop the same musical structure: an ethereal opening section inspired by images of space from the Hubble Space Telescope, a stirring middle section inspired by images of our own planet as viewed from the International Space Station, and a closing section which brings the listener down to Earth, where cities teem with the energy of humanity. This movement depicts the wonder of the heavens, the earth and finally mankind -- God's wondrous images-bearers who demonstrate His glory more fully than all the rest, as a divine answer to the problem of pain, for He is the Great Comforter and Redeemer.
The Lux Aeterna which then closes the work portrays light, peace, and rest - for both the deceased and the living. Our Requiem, our Rest, is found in Christ, both eternally and in the present. This last movement recaps moments from each of the previous ones and finally, in one last gesture, the final three notes of the entire work are those same tree pitches from the first movement, now ascending instead of descending, as if reaching towards the heavens....