Hi-Res PDF Poster
Morten Lauridsen: Lux Aeterna
Celebrating All Souls Day, Nov 7, 2010 10:25 am
First Unitarian, Worcester
Listen to a sample MP3
with chamber orchestra:
Peter Sulski, violin
Jorge Soto, violin
Angel Hernandez, viola
Boris Kogan, cello
Kevin Green, contrabass
Madeline Browning, flute
Vinh Nguyen, oboe
Dan Hall, bassoon
Nancy Ackerman, clarinet
Rich Ardizzone, trombone
Becky Spanagel, keyboard
Bob Gordon, timpani
Will Sherwood,
director and organist
Lauridsen composed the requiem Lux Aeterna in 1997, the year his mother died. She was the "muse" who introduced him to music, playing swing jazz and singing to him as a toddler. She also taught him to play the piano. The consolation for grief offered by Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna is often compared to that of Fauré's Requiem and Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem, both works inspired by the deaths of the composers' mothers. These works also have in common a deceptive simplicity, yet their capacity to touch the listener reveals mastery at expressing through music the depth of human emotion.
The five movements of Lux Aeterna are based on various references to light from sacred Latin texts: perpetual light, light risen in the darkness, Redeemer-born light of light, light of the Holy Spirit, light of hearts, most blessed light, eternal light - all supporting an earthbound spirit seeking not only mercy, understanding, and consolation but also renewal. "This is music that has absorbed the wondrous from our century. Its unequivocal generosity of spirit, its unfussy ecstatic tone comes not from the past or rejection of the new but from an openness to modern music."2
In expressing a human journey to reclaim intimacy with the inner life, Lauridsen seamlessly integrates the musical essence of ancient modes, Renaissance polyphony, Romanticism, and modern dissonance. This timelessness can bring home to the listener the recognition of his or her own mortal journey. Perhaps this embracing effect is a reason that Lux Aeterna is widely known to bring listeners to tears.
I. Eternal Rest
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn befits you, O God in Zion, and to you a vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem: Hear my prayer, for unto you all flesh shall come. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and, let perpetual light shine upon them.II. In You, Lord, Have I Trusted
To deliver us, you became human, and did not disdain the Virgin's womb. Having blunted the sting of death, You opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers. A light has risen in the darkness for the upright. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Let your mercy be upon us,
O Lord, as we have trusted in you. In you, O Lord, have I trusted: let me never be confounded. .III. O Light Born of Light
O light born of light, Jesus, the redeemer of the world, mercifully deem worthy and accept the praises and prayers of your supplicants. You, who once deigned to be clothed in flesh for the sake of the lost ones, grant us to be made members of your holy body.IV: Come, Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, send forth from heaven the ray of your light. Come, Father of the poor, come, giver of gifts, come, light of hearts. You best of Consolers, sweet guest of the soul, sweet refreshment. In labor, you are rest, in heat, the tempering, in grief, the consolation. O light most blessed fill the innermost heart of all your faithful. Without your grace, there is nothing in us, nothing that is not harmful. Cleanse what is sordid, moisten what is arid, heal what is hurt. Flex what rigid, fire what is frigid, correct what goes astray. Grant to your faithful, those trusting in you, your sacred seven-fold gifts. Grant the reward of virtue, grant the deliverance of salvation, grant everlasting joy.V. Lamb of God-light Eternal
Lamb O God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest. Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest everlasting. May eternal light shine upon them, O Lord, in the company of your Saints for ever and ever; for you are merciful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Alleluia. Amen.
Next events: (live schedule)
