In Memoriam: A Modern Requiem

May 29, 2021
Austin, Texas

Inversion Ensemble presents In Memoriam: A Modern Requiem

Inversion Ensemble
Trevor Shaw, Artistic Director
Robbie LaBanca, Managing Director
Adrienne Inglis, Outreach Director

with guest pianist Michelle Schumann

In response to all those we have lost in the last year, Inversion Ensemble has constructed a new, modern requiem with individual movements provided by different composers mixing standard Latin text and contemporary poetry. Inversion Ensemble is honored to have collaborated with renowned pianist Michelle Schumann for this very special concert featuring new works by local composers Trevor Shaw, Adrienne Inglis, Stephanie K. Andrews, Majorie Halloran, Trevor Villwock, and Robbie LaBanca. This concert also features the winners of the Third Annual Sandra Fivecoat Memorial Emerging Composer Contest, Luke Flynn and Shruthi Rajasekar. Little Robin by Rachel DeVore Fogarty is the Happy Composer Commission Project for this event. The concert also includes Belinda Reynolds’ Remembrance for chorus, marimba, and piano.

Program

Little Robin by Rachel DeVore Fogarty [world premiere]

Remembrance for chorus, marimba, and piano by Belinda Reynolds

Introduction from Artistic Director Trevor Shaw

Be near me when my light is low

    Introitus—Kyrie by Clinton Bray [world premiere]
    Offertory by Stephanie K. Andrews [world premiere]
    Sanctus—Santo y Hosanna by Adrienne Inglis  [world premiere]
    Agnus Dei by Luke Flynn [world premiere]
    Lux Aeterna by Marjorie Halloran [world premiere]
    Pie Jesu—Her rest will not begin nor end but be by Trevor Villwock [world premiere]
    Libera Me—The Wild Iris by Robbia LaBanca [world premiere]
    In Paradisum by Trevor F. Shaw [world premiere]

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Shruthi Rajasekar

Inversion dedicates itself to presenting innovative new choral works by mostly local composers. Since its inception in 2017, Inversion has contributed 90 world premieres to the choral catalogue with its imaginative program themes. Its October 2018 project, “I, Too, Sing America,” garnered four Austin Critics Table nominations. Inversion is a proud member of the C4 National Network.

Inversion is incredibly proud to partner with Michelle Schumann, Artistic Director of the Austin Chamber Music Center, for our May 28 concert “In Memoriam: A Modern Requiem.” A creative superstar in the Austin music scene, Michelle wowed us in particular with a concert of classical/romantic pieces paired with contemporary ones by such composers as Phillip Glass and Steve Reich. Because Michelle is a staunch supporter of new music who frequently collaborates with local composers, we knew she would be an ideal partner for Inversion. At her request, we enthusiastically include on the program “Remembrance” by Belinda Reynolds, which features text by Michelle’s late mother-in-law. 

We are honored to have Michelle’s artistry and sensitivity as the foundation of this concert. We hope you will take a moment to read her full bio here: https://austinchambermusic.org/people/michelle-schumann/ 

Texts

Introitus Kyrie

Requiem æternam 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.

Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Zion;
and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem:
hear my prayer;
all flesh shall come to Thee.

Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison.

Requiem æternam -

Kyrie, eleison.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Eternal rest -
Lord, have mercy.

Offertory

Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory
Deliver the souls of all the faithful departed
Deliver them, we pray, from deepest darkness
and from the shadow of death.
But let Saint Michael the Archangel
Defender of souls
Lead them to holy eternal light
Promised to your faithful for all eternity.
Sacrifices and prayers we offer you, O Lord:
Receive them on behalf of our beloved departed whom we remember this day.
May they pass from death to life eternal,
Promised to your faithful for all eternity.

Sanctus

Santo, santo, santo, Dios Creador del universo,
El cielo y la tierra están llenos de tu gloria,
Hosanna en las alturas.
Bendito es el que viene en el nombre de Dios,
Hosanna en las alturas.

Holy, holy, holy, God Creator of the universe,
Heaven and earth are full of your glory,
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of God,
Hosanna in the highest.

Agnus Dei

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona nobis pacem

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us.
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Lux Aeterna

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Let perpetual light shine upon them, O Lord,
with your saints for ever,for you are merciful.
Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Pie Jesu (Her rest)

...as the fowl can keep
Absolute stillness, poised aloft in air,
And fishes front, unmoved, the torrent's sweep,
So may the Soul, through powers that Faith bestows,
Win rest, and ease, and peace, with bliss that Angels share.

- William Wordsworth, excerpt from “Rest and Be Thankful! – At The Head Of Glencroe”

Until the morning of Eternity
Her rest shall not begin nor end, but be.

- Christina Georgina Rossetti, excerpt from “Rest”

The direct perceptions which I now have are those which now fall within my "specious present".
Of those which are beyond it, I can only have memory or anticipation. Now the "specious present" varies in length according to circumstances, and may be different for two people at the same period. …The [objective] present through which events really pass, therefore, cannot be determined as simultaneous with the specious present. And thus an event may be past when I am experiencing it as present, or present when I am experiencing it as past. The duration of the objective present may be the thousandth part of a second. Or it may be a century… What reason can we have to believe in the existence of such a present, which we certainly do not observe to be a present, and which has no relation to what we do observe to be a present? Whenever we perceive anything as existing in time -- which is the only way in which we ever do perceive things -- we are perceiving it more or less as it really is not.

- J.M.E. McTaggart, excerpt from “The Unreality of Time” (1908)

Libera Me (The Wild Iris)

At the end of my suffering
there was a door.
Hear me out: that which you call death
I remember.
Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting.
Then nothing. The weak sun
flickered over the dry surface.
It is terrible to survive
as consciousness
buried in the dark earth.
Then it was over: that which you fear, being
a soul and unable
to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth
bending a little. And what I took to be
birds darting in low shrubs.
You who do not remember
passage from the other world
I tell you I could speak again: whatever
returns from oblivion returns
to find a voice:
from the center of my life came
a great fountain, deep blue
shadows on azure seawater.

Louise Gluck

In Paradisum

In Paradisum deducant te Angeli
in tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres
et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus Angelorum te suscipiat
et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
aeternam habeas requiem.

May the angels lead you into paradise;
may the martyrs greet you at your arrival
and lead you into the holy City of Jerusalem.
May the choir of Angels greet you
and like Lazarus, who once was a poor man,
may you have eternal rest.

Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

- Mary Elizabeth Frye, 1932

Little Robin

O little robin
You seasoned harbinger
Did you not notice
How the clover sprawls untouched
in the empty city parks
and blooming cherry trees
line each street like funeral wreaths?
Did you not see
the bowed Bradford pear spill tears?
Or the stricken redbud,
spewing petals, infect
the dogwood with grief?
Spring howls,
belches blossoms,
spits sorrow
And yet
you still sing.

- Rachel DeVore Fogarty

Remembrance

I am happy
Joy is my name
Sweet Joy befall thee.
Here take my hand.
Let us go together, You and I.
One girl, one boy.
Together we will enter the garden gates.
Where the stone angels gaze down upon the graves.
They will raise their eyes as we dance and sing.
They will smile as we throw Petals red and yellow.
They will bend to meet us and join hands.
Pretty joy!
I sing the while, thou dost smile.
Suffer the little children to come to me
For such is the kingdom of God.
In the eyes of a child is the long sightedness of the old oak.
In the laughter of a child is the clear ringing of a spring-filled creek.
In the tears of a child are the cries of a seedling trampled.
Children breathe and the earth swells and recedes.
Children play and breezes sway and call Come, and the children follow.
Carefree in the light, Careless in their play,
At night's dawn we call - Come home.
Wise souls are children
Ordinary people look after them.
Don't grieve, all things change.
All that lives must die.
Your love is our wine.
Your smiles are our honey.
Be ever with us. Smile upon our children.
Protect and shelter us
Don't leave.
Your love is our bread and water
Be comforted, life and death are one.
We dance among you.
Blessings from the living to the dead.
We dance among your bones.
Anything you lose comes 'round in another form.

Elizabeth Orem

Trevor Shaw, Artistic Director
Robbie LaBanca, Managing Director 
Michelle Schumann, Piano
Thomas Burritt, Marimba

Singers for “Be near me when my light is low” and “Remembrance”

Sopranos
Carol Brown
Mary Kettlewell
Juli Orlandini
Adrienne Pedrotti Bingamon

Altos
Rosa Mondragón Harris
Adrienne Inglis
Katrina Saporsantos
Page Stephens

Tenors
Bryce Bartu
Garrett Gerard
Brian Minnick
Jonathan Reimer

Basses
Evan Blaché
Clinton Bray
Brad Fanta
Mark Tomasino

Thomas Burritt, Marimba
Photography, Zachary Nash

Singers for “Little Robin” and “Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep”

Soprano
Adrienne Pedrotti Bingamon
Juli Orlandini
Carol Brown
Erin Yousef
Joy Tamayo
Suzette Emberton
Kim Vitray
Sam Wise
Mary Kettlewell
Eva Hawker
Elise Ragland
Maureen Papovich

Alto
Cina Crisara
Jennifer Hudson Inglis
Keely Rhodes
Bonnie Bogovich
Katrina Saporsantos
Patricia Combs
Adrienne Inglis
Wravan Godsoe
Rebecca Stidolph
Artha Weaver

Tenor
Sherrille Reed
Holt Skinner
Rene Simone
Jonathan Riemer
Brian Minnick

Bass
Steve Sifner
Brian Mountford
Aaron Bourgeois
Trevor Shaw
Steven Serpa 

Audio Production, Trevor Shaw with assistance from Adrienne Inglis
Video Production, Carol Brown
Art & Graphic Design, Juli Orlandini
Photography, Zachary Nash
Texas Flag Project

Inversion Ensemble

Trevor Shaw, Artistic Director
Robbie LaBanca, Managing Director
Adrienne Inglis, Outreach Director
Carol Brown, Production Director
Juli Orlandini, Art Director

Audio Production by Trevor Shaw
Video Production and Editing by Carol Brown
Graphic Design & Marketing by Juli Orlandini