Jaren Hinckley

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was born on September 30 in 1852 in Dublin, Ireland.  Happy Birthday, Sir Charles! He is not quite as famous as some of his students (Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst), but his music is most certainly worth a listen.  I have known of him for years simply because I am a clarinetist and there is a sonata by Stanford that is performed relatively frequently in the clarinet world.  But I wanted to expand my familiarity with his music, so I chose to listen to his Requiem mass.

TITLE: Requiem, op. 63

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE:

This is a lengthy Requiem, about an hour and twenty minutes worth of music. After listening to it this week, I’m surprised we don’t know more of Stanford!  This is lovely music!  If you are a fan of sacred choral music, this is for you.  Here’s the title and section titles:

Requiem, Op. 63

1. Introit: Adagio
2. Kyrie: Allegro tranquillo ed espressivo
3. Gradual: Larghetto
4. Sequence – Dies Irae: Allegro moderato ma energico
5. Offertorium: Allegro
6. Sanctus: Allegro non troppo
7. Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna: Tempo di Marcia funebre

Each section is between four and eleven minutes long with the exception of the fourth section—the Sequence – Dies Irae—coming in at a whopping thirty minutes long!

HIGHLIGHT:

There are two highlights for me in this lovely Requiem.  The first is the aforementioned really long “Dies Irae” section.  It’s like a mini-oratorio.  It has a lot of drama and utilizes the orchestra, choir, and four vocal soloists (SATB) extremely well. The entire movement is a bit too long for me to include here, but I encourage you to seek this work out.

The other highlight is the opening section of the Requiem—the “Introit: Adagio.”  It is absolutely gorgeous.  I have included (below) an excerpt of the first five minutes of the work.  You can read the text and translation here:

LATIN

Requiem aeternam 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.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

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 before you.

If you’d like to follow along with the score, you can find it here:

http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/6/6c/IMSLP90211-PMLP184944-Stanford_Requiem.pdf

(You might have to click on an “ok” button that says you understand that the score may or may not be in the public domain before you can view the score.)

Enjoy!  I really think you’re going to love this one!

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY STANFORD?:  A lot! And, since he’s not quite so well-known, a lot of his music has not been recorded.  This’ll be a challenge, but I’ll find a way to listen to it all.