World premiere of David Millard’s Requiem composed in memory of Alan Ryder, a much-loved former choir member.
Loss takes many forms, and each of us has felt loss in some way since our shared pandemic journey began.
In our mid-season concert, the members of Vivaldi Chamber Choir gather to recognize and, in a sense, celebrate their loss. Not just the loss of time spent together in community, to keep everyone safe, but the loss of a deeply loved member of our choir family: Alan Ryder.
The concert begins with a whisper of love and remembrance – A group of three choral pieces sets the tone for this healing journey: A Spiritual arranged by BIPOC composer HT Burleigh; a motet on an ancient plainchant melody by Maurice Duruflé; and a poem by Christina Rossetti set brilliantly by Canadian composer, Stephen Chatman.
What follows is nothing short of extraordinary. Vivaldi Chamber Choir is honoured to present the WORLD PREMIERE of Requiem, composed in memory of Alan Ryder by David Millard, former Artistic Director of the choir. This requiem mass reflects influences from many periods, all honed to musical perfection. Composed for choir, mezzo-soprano soloist, string quartet and organ, it is a work for the ages.
The epilogue of Requiem, and in fact the concert, is David Millard’s setting of Shakespeare’s Fear no more the heat o’ the sun, composed in July 2000 and sung by Alan Ryder in his time with Vivaldi Chamber Choir.
There is no more fitting a tribute; there is no more perfect a journey; there is no more meaningful a communal act of grieving and healing.
IN REMEMBRANCE
Featuring:
- Tabitha Brasso-Ernst, mezzo-soprano
- Angelique Po, organist
- String quartet
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