Program note

I cannot bear the thought of losing a close friend or even begin to imagine the pain of losing a son. The ways of the Lord are unpredictable and strange it would seem, yet they always seem to lead us in the right direction.

Libera Me is a text sung during the Office of the Dead. It is a prayer asking God to have mercy upon a dead person once the Day of the Last Judgment comes. It encapsulates a variety of moods and is one of my favorite from the texts of the Requiem mass.

My setting of this text is largely based on Arnold Schoenberg’s Notturno, using similar harmonies and quoting melodic fragments. Next, the piece quotes the Dies Irae motif, used in countless works by famous composers. The third verse of Libera Me refers to the Day of Wrath, hence it is I think appropriate to use it here. I think I quote even more works by other composers but I am not sure which ones.

Text:

Libera me, Domine, de morte æterna, in die illa tremenda
Quando cœli movendi sunt et terra
Dum veneris iudicare sæculum per ignem.

Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira
Quando cœli movendi sunt et terra.

Dies illa, dies iræ, calamitatis et miseriæ, dies magna et amara valde
Dum veneris judicare sæculum per ignem.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.