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William Harper
1949 -
United States of America, IL
William Harper (10/03/1949), an American composer, born in Chicago (Illinois). He has written many critically acclaimed operas including, El Greco, Snow Leopard, Dead Birds and Crimson Cowboy. Dr. Harper teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and for his work in opera, film, dance and theater, Harper has received support from many foundations and support groups including the National Institute for Music Theater, the Djerassi Foundation, the Yaddo Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, The MacArthur Foundation.
Requiem
This Requiem divided in 10 movements, scored for SATB (divisi) choir and alto solo, contains:
01. De profundis 02. Miserere 03. Subvenite 04. Absolve 05. Kyrie/Dies irae 06. Sanctus/Agnus Dei 07. In paradisum
A Gregorian requiem mass for chorus, electroacoustic score and alto solo. Requiem was written on commission from Harle Montgomery in memory of Kenneth Montgomery. All of the melodic material is from the traditional Gregorian requiem mass.
William Harper implodes the forms and colors of electronica, classical, pop, folk and opera, galvanizing a radical new musical vision for a diverse and devoted audience of all ages.
William Harper paints in long, bold strokes, balancing scenes instead of motives, and propelling the ear on voyages of emotion. Elegant counterpoint interwoven with Gregorian Chant joyous ensemble pieces break out at every dramatic juncture. The tonality is postminimal, but the ways textures alternate and recur provides an effective, Stravinskian illusion of perpetual forward motion.
What a splendid work! Terrific in every respect, especially the integration of electronic elements and the fine choral textures. May I dare add that it is a work, to my ears, worthy of the company of the great requiems of Brahms, Verdi, Victoria, Britten, Faure, and Durufle - I mean it!
I've listened already 2 times to this amazing piece. It has to be one of the most unique settings of the requiem and I've heard over 300 different requiems. It will be a good challenge to describe this fabulous work...with its many influences.
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