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This Lacrimosa interweaves the original Latin text from the Requiem mass with the beautiful poetry of William O'Daly. The Lacrimosa begins: "Full of tears shall be that [judgement] day..." But O'Daly's text asks a broader question: Without the presence of water, around us and inside us, how can we weep?
Text:
Is this ever-descending water
human tears? Do they mean nothing?
Will the stoneheads that week
in the late afternoon fade away?
Without you, how will we weep
when we need to?
How will the earth smell
after the last drops of rain?
Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla.
Judicandus homoreus:
Huic ergo parce, Deus.
Dona eis Requiem.
Amen
--
Music: Reena Esmail
Words: William O'Daly ("In Franconia Gorge" - from The New Gods, Beltway Editions, 2022) -- with Latin Requiem text
Soprano Solo: Graycen Gardner
Tabla: Rohit Panchakshari
Conductor: Amy Fogerson
Choir:
Soprano - Harriet Fraser, Ayana Haviv, Andrea Zomorodian
Alto - Sarah Lych, Michele Hemmings, Alice Kirwan Murray, Ilana Summers
Tenor - Todd Strange, Adam Faruqi, Jody Golightly, Charles Lane
Bass - Ben Han-Wei Lin, James Hayden, Dylan Gentile, Luc Kleiner
Video Directed by: Louis Ng, Lenson Productions