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A Note from the Artistic Director
As a church choir director, I often have people tell me what they want sung at their funerals. Usually it consists of their favorite hymns, perhaps a beloved anthem or two; but everyone, it seems, wants “happy” music at their funeral. “Nothing like a dirge, please.” If I know the person well, I sometimes then playfully ask, “How about ‘Another one bites the dust?’”
At this concert we explore a few Requiems -- works written specifically for funerals or commemorations of the departed, including the Gregorian plainchant meant for the occasion, and excerpts from three other settings from the 15th and 16th centuries. As we prepare to listen to these, I plan to point out things that interest me, questions that have occurred to me, and I seek your input on these issues. That’s ideally why I started these so-called “Cameo Concerts,” where a slightly less formal atmosphere is cultivated, allowing audience members to “chime in” with questions and observations, if so led. You are more than welcome. If you are reading these words before the concert begins, scan the texts of the works to be sung, and see if anything occurs to you, or pick out something that you intend to listen for. Or look at the cover illustration, and see if there is anything you are dying to know about it. These are the questions I love to hear, and perhaps together we can address some of these questions, not looking for answers so much as to raise new questions and stimulate further thought.
As for the music at my own funeral, to whomever is in charge at this hopefully far-distant event, I want music that is as sad and dirge-like as possible!
Timothy
J. Krueger
November 2010
© 2010 Timothy J. Krueger
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