Description
This requiem centers around the idea of transformation. But more than that, it’s about transforming into lightness, into beauty. So many requiems focus on darkness and end somberly, but Ashes of Roses does not. It ends with a brightness, centering on the fact that we all someday transition into something beyond ourselves, and that should be celebrated.
Ashes of Roses was first premiered by a volunteer chorus and orchestra at St. Olaf College in 2003 and won an Honorable Mention in the ASCAP/Rudolph Nissim Competition that same year. In 2010, St. Catherine University, in conjunction with the St. Catherine Choral Society, under the direction of Dr. Patricia Cahalan Connors, commissioned a completion of the work, in which two new movements were added: the “Dies Irae” and “Agnus Dei”. Ashes of Roses, in its new version, was premiered May 8, 2011, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Ashes of Roses is a new setting of the Requiem (the Mass for the Dead). The work, for soloists, chorus and orchestra, gets its name from Elaine Goodale Eastman’s poem “Ashes of Roses,” which is incorporated into the traditional Latin text of the Requiem. Compositionally, the music displays Jocelyn’s keen interest in melody, texture and color. The harmony is certainly tonal, but it is a sort of “free tonality,” employing extended harmonies, often creating layering effects. Instrumentation and textures range from sparse to extremely thick. The rhythmic and metrical vocabulary of the piece is large and varied, with frequent changes of meter and tempo and uses of asymmetrical me- ter, such as 7/4. The performers are called upon to negotiate triplets, du- plets, quintuplets, quarter-note triplets against 8th note triplets, extended sequences of syncopation, etc. This is complex music, indeed, but the result is music that seems to flow logically and carry a strong emotional impact.
Dr. Patricia Cahalan Connors
I. Introit/Kyrie (choir)
II. Dies Irae (soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists, chorus)
III. Lacrimosa (choir)
IV. Ashes of Roses (SSAA choir)
V. Offertorium (soprano saxophone soloist, soprano, mezzo-soprano, and baritone soloists, choir)
VI. Agnus Dei (baritone soloist, TTB choir)
VII. Lux Aeterna (soprano saxophone soloist, choir)
Hagen’s requiem, with seven movements for soloists, chorus and orchestra, was full of surprises. As Hanna-Weir wrote in the program notes, the requiem reflects Hagen’s “holistic appreciation for music from Gregorian chant to pop,” and the work “oscillates between the old world and the new….[ending] triumphantly, gloriously lifting up the final Dona Eis Requiem and creating a transcendent moment full of hope and promise.”
In fact, Hagen’s requiem was so up lifting that the audience jumped to their feet instantly after the finale, clapping long and loudly.
Diane Andrews, The Silicon Valley Voice, May 25, 2016
Playlist of Chamber Version: Performed by the South Bend Chamber Singers with Saint Mary’s College Belles Voix, conducted by Dr. Nancy Menk
Perusal Scores
Full Orchestra Instrumentation
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet in B-flat (2)
Bassoon (2)
Horn (2)
Trumpet in C (3)
Trombone (2)
Tuba
Timpani
Percussion (2)
Piano
Soprano Saxophone Soloist
Soprano Soloist
Mezzo-Soprano Soloist
Baritone Soloist
SATB Chorus
Violin I (8)
Violin II (8)
Viola (6)
Cello (5)
Bass (3)
Organ and Flexible Chamber Orchestra Instrumentation
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet in Bb / Sop. Saxophone
Bassoon
Trumpet in C
Timpani (opt., recommended with multiple strings)
Percussion (2)
Organ
Soprano Soloist
Mezzo-Soprano Soloist
Baritone Soloist
SATB Chorus
Violin I
Violin II
Viola
Cello
Percussion Technique Demonstration (“Dies Irae”)
Text
I. Introit/Kyrie
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine;
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam;
ad te omnis caro veniet.
Kyrie eleison,
Christe eleison,
Kyrie eleison.
Rest eternal grant them, O Lord;
and let light perpetual shine upon them.
A hymn befits Thee, O God, in Zion;
and to thee shall be paid a vow in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer,
to Thee all flesh shall come.
Lord, have mercy upon us,
Christ, have mercy upon us,
Lord, have mercy upon us.
II. Dies Irae
Dies irae, dies illa,
solvet saecium in favilla,
teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
quando judex est venturus,
cuncta stricte discussurus!
Tuba mirum spargens sonum
per sepulcra regionum
coget omnes ante thronum.
Pie Jesu Domine
dona eis requiem.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis.
A day of wrath: that day,
it will dissolve the world into glowing ashes,
as attested by David together with Sibyl.
What trembling will there be
when the Judge shall come
to examine everything in strict justice!
The trumpet spreading its wondrous sound
through the graves of every region,
will summon all before the throne.
Merciful Lord Jesus,
grant them rest.
I pray, kneeling in supplication,
my heart contrite as ashes.
III. Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa dies illa
qua resurget ex favilla
judicandus homo reus.
Preces meae non sunt dignae:
sed tu bonus fac benigne,
ne perenni cremer igne.
Huic ergo parce, Deus,
Pie Jesu Domine,
dona eis requiem.
That day will be one of weeping
on which the guilty man shall arise
from the ashes to be judged.
My prayers are not worthy
but Thou, of Thy goodness, deal generously
that I burn not in the everlasting fire.
Spare this one, O God,
merciful Lord Jesus,
give them peace.
IV. Ashes of Roses
by Elaine Goodale Eastman
Soft on the sunset sky
Bright Daylight closes,
Leaving, when light doth die,
Pale hues that mingling lie –
Ashes of Roses.
When love’s warm sun is set,
Love’s brightness closes;
Eyes with hot tears are wet,
In hearts there linger yet –
Ashes of Roses.
V. Offertorium
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum de poenis inferni et
de profundo lacu; libera eas
de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas
Tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum.
Rex tremendae majestatis,
qui salvandos salvas gratis,
salva me fons pietatis.
O Lord, Jesus Christ, King of glory
deliver the souls of all the departed
faithful from the torments of hell and
from the bottomless pit; deliver them
from the mouth of the lion, lest
Tartarus swallow them; lest they fall into the darkness.
King of dreadful majesty,
who freely saves those who deserve salvation:
Save me, fountain of pity!
VI. Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi
miserere nobis.
Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world
have mercy on us.
Behold, I tell you a mystery:
We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound
and the dead will be raised incorruptible.
Behold, I tell you a mystery:
and we shall be changed.
(I Corinthians 15:51-52)
Agnus Dei,
qui tollis peccata mundi
dona nobis pacem.
Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world
grant us peace.
VII. Lux Aeterna
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem in aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat is.
Let everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord
with thy saints forever
for thou art merciful.
Grant to the departed eternal rest, O Lord,
and let everlasting light shine upon them.
Manuscript Sketch
Premiere Review and Photo
Santa Clara Chorale Requiems Pay Homage to Mozart and Welcome Hagen, Diane Andrews (The Silicon Valley Voice, May 2016)
Hagen’s requiem was so up lifting that the audience jumped to their feet instantly after the finale, clapping long and loudly.
The audience was excited to discover, thanks to the Chorale’s risk-taking young artistic director, a talented young composer (born in 1980) and welcome her to the elite corps of requiem composers. This is not to take a long-esteemed friend like Mozart for granted. Rather, it was to welcome, embrace, and look forward to meeting again a new friend.
