Beveridge: Yizkor Requiem

The title reflects the first words of the Yizkor Service and the Requiem Mass: The Hebrew word "yizkor" means "may He remember," the whole initial phrase being "Yizkor Elohim et nishmat" ("May God remember the soul of..."); the Latin word "requiem" means "rest," from the initial phrase "Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine" ("Rest eternal grant them, Lord").

The Yizkor Service is not a funeral ritual, but a memorial service celebrated on a handful of occasions during the year in the synagogue, notably in the afternoon on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. At that time all who have ever suffered the loss of loved ones, particularly of parents, participate in these prayers and recitations. The Requiem Mass is intended for funeral or memorial services, but it is certainly used for memorials of a more general nature, especially in the concert settings of the great masters. The inspiration to write Yizkor Requiem came to me when my father, Lowell Beveridge, passed away in 1991 - the "requiem aeternam" theme actually came to me the very day of his death. A year and a half later, my mother, Ida, died, and the work is dedicated to the memory of both my parents.

In 1994, I conducted the premiere performance of Yizkor Requiem, by the New Dominion Chorale, of which I am the Artistic Director There have been several performances since then in Washington, Chicago and New York, the most important of which was at the Concert Hall of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, by The Choral Arts Society of Washington under the direction of Norman Scribner, in Apri11996. This compact disc is a recording of that live performance at the Kennedy Center.

My decision to interweave themes from the Jewish and Christian faiths was inspired by Lowell Beveridge's own "quest for spiritual roots," The first half of his career was spent in New York, where he was on the Columbia University faculty as organist and choirmaster at St Paul's Chapel, and a professor at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary. He then studied for the Episcopal priesthood and spent 25 years as Professor of Speech and Music at Virginia Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. Upon retiring he spent two years in Israel at the ecumenical institute Tantur, with representatives of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths.

His lifelong project was to search out and assemble writings on the subject of "Music and the Soul," which he called his "pythagoras Project." This brought him into contact with many great thinkers such as the Swiss theologian-musician Karl Barth, and Eric Werner, Professor at Hebrew Union College in New York, whose masterful study of the origins of Christian liturgy and music in the synagogue, "The Sacred Bridge," profoundly affected him.

Scholars have long known about the influence of the synagogue on the early Church. I find it of particular interest that the prayer Jesus taught to his disciples, the "Lord's Prayer," has much in common with the "Kaddish" prayer. This is reflected in the final movement of Yizkor Requiem when the two prayers are sung simultaneously. In summary, Yizkor Requiem is intended to illustrate musically the common themes of the two rituals, to stand, as it were, on the Sacred Bridge between them, and to show that in many ways they express the same hopes and fears and ideas.

The work is scored for mixed voices (often singing in unison or in two parts); three soloists. Cantor(tenor), soprano and alto; and chamber orchestra: three violin, three viola, three cello parts and bass viol, two flutes, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, horn and two trumpets, timpani and percussion, The cantor dominates the work, singing in Hebrew or Aramaic, and in a style which allows for occasional ornamentation and improvisation.

A word needs to be said about the texts that have not been used, namely the places in the Requiem Mass that deal with the Day of Judgment and the agonies awaiting the damned - the entire "Dies Irae" and parts of the "Domine Jesu Christe" or "Offertorium." There has been no attempt to demonstrate the similarities in the music of the synagogue and the early church, but there are certain recurring musical symbols and motifs:

The Octave: I call it the "Yizkor Motif," invoking the interrelationship between God (the higher note) and humankind (the lower note), Although God is the

Highest, we do partake in the divinity at a lower level of awareness. The opening movement begins with a trumpet fanfare in octaves; many of the movements are preceded by instrumental playing of the separate notes of the octave; the soprano and alto soloists often sing in octaves; and toward the end of the work all the forces are in octaves (Justorum Animae, the Lord's Prayer).

The Fifth: Symbolizing Perfection and Glory, the fifth appears at the very opening with the Cantor singing the shofar-like phrase "Yitgadal" (Magnified), And in the great climax of the Sanctification, the brass instruments are heard above the entire chorus and orchestra playing the great shofar-motif of the fifth.

The Third: Symbolizing Love The soprano and alto soloists sing mostly in thirds, especially when invoking the name of Jesus.

The basic structure of Yizkor Requiem rests on three pillars' the "Reader's Kaddish" at the beginning, the "Sanctification" or Kedusha in the middle, and the "Mourner's Kaddish/Lord's Prayer" at the end. The words Kaddish and Kedusha are both derived from the Hebrew root KDSH, Holy or Sanctified. Note that the Lord's Prayer is translated "Our father in heaven, sanctified be your Name."

The incidental structure of the work is triggered by linguistic parallels between the two traditions. Among the words which influenced me the most are the following:

LATIN
HEBREW / ARAMAIC
ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Requiem
M'nucha
Rest

Lux
Or
Light

Sion
Zion
Zion

Omnis caro
Kol chai
All that lives

Eleison (Greek)
S'lach lanu
Forgive us

Abraham
Avraham
Abraham

Recordare
Zachrenu
Remember (us)

Sanctus
Kadosh
Holy

Benedictus
Baruch
Blessed

In pace
B'shalom
In peace

Pater noster
Avinu
Our father

Regnum
Malchut
Kingdom

Rex
Melech
King

Nomen
Shem
name

Animae
Nishmot
Souls

Sanctificetur
yitkadash
Sanctified (hollowed)

SYNOPSIS:

I. Reader's Kaddish

Yizkor Requiem opens with a brass fanfare in the most joyful key of C major. Instead of the traditional hushed prayer for the rest of the departed soul we hear the stentorian tones of the Cantor singing praises to the Almighty who created both life and death. Although the Kaddish prayer is associated with mourning, it is actually a doxology, a prayer of thanksgiving and praise.

The movement ends on an A major chord which slowly dies away to reveal a lone bass viol playing a mournful melody in the key of A minor, the beginning of the next movement.

II. Requiem Aeternam

A lengthy fugal passage of muted strings on the melody introduced by the bass viol leads into the choral entrance on the words "Requiem aeternam dona eis

Domine"; this reaches a climax on the word "Dona!" then dies down for the words "et lux perpetua luceat eis." The chorus sings the word "Light!" on an octave, which gradually fills in to contain all twelve notes of the sonic spectrum. The Cantor enters on the Hebrew word for light, "Or," accompanied by the other soloists. Then begins a joyful hymn, "Te decet hymnus," to a steady tambourine (timbrel) on a beguine-Iike dance rhythm which builds to another climax. The music then dies away, initially arriving back at C major on the words "Lord have mercy and remember us," but after a pause, this long movement comes to rest on a C minor chord.

III. Psalm 23

This text is used universally for funerals within all of the faiths of the Iudaeo-Christian spiritual heritage. In this setting we hear a shepherd's pipe over a drone, the chorus singing a simple melody in octaves. The relevant words, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death," are colored with muted brass and strings playing col legno, striking the strings with the back of the bow, to achieve the effect of rattling bones This is the only "scary" passage in the entire work and lasts only a fraction of a minute; we do not fear death or evil, for the Lord is with us and will comfort us in times of sadness and need.

IV. Remember!

It is in this movement, which combines the Hebrew prayer, Avot (Our Fathers), with the Offertorium (Domine Jesu Christe), that the interweaving of texts and musical styles is most apparent. All of the singers come together at the end, for the only time in the entire work, on the same words, "Remember, remember, and inscribe us in the Book of Life." The Cantor begins the movement a cappella and ends it with the words "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, Shield of Abraham."

V. Hostias

The chorus sings this motet a cappella, with the women soloists joining at the end. The parallel textual references to Abraham are particularly noteworthy here.

"May they go from death to life, as You once promised to Abraham and his seed forever," which evokes the words of the Avot prayer, "Thou bringest redemption to their (the fathers') descendants"

VI. Sanctification

The most obvious of the textual parallels is the Sanctus. The words (from Isaiah, chapter 6) are the central part of the Jewish Sanctification. What is not so obvious is the reason why the words "Holy, Holy, Holy" are repeated three times Hebrew has no suffix to express a superlative, as in "most holy"; one way to express emphasis is through repetition So the Latin is "Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus" instead of "Sanctissimus." Actually the entire verse is repeated three times, as is the practice in the synagogue with certain significant melodies, such as the "Kol Nidrei." The music reaches the biggest climax in the entire work on the third repetition, in C major, with the brass playing the shofar motif over the entire sound of the ensemble. The momentum slackens but builds again from almost a complete stop, like a train which picks up momentum toward great speed, ending, once more on C major, with a mighty shout on the words "In excelsis!"

VII. El Malei Rachamim

This is the most poignant of the Jewish prayers for the dead. The entire mood is one of deep mourning, beginning with horn and divided strings playing in organ-like style. The Cantor dominates the mood of the piece. The marvelous text, reminiscent of the prayer "In Paradisum," "May they rest in the Garden of Eden," is given special emphasis. The movement ends on a low a minor chord.

VIII. Lux Aeterna

Flute, soprano and high winds introduce the high feeling of light, the flute melody being the "Requiem aeternam" theme played now in a major mode. This leads directly into:

IX. Justorum Animae

This great text from the Wisdom of Solomon is performed with the simplest of means. The soprano soloist sings an unaccompanied hymn wllich is repeated, phrase by phrase, by chorus and orchestra in octaves. These words from the Old Testament Apocrypha are the most poignant of all the verses used in Yizkor Requiem, for they encapsulate perfectly the essence of both traditions.

X. Mourner's Kaddish and Lord's Prayer

The orchestra plays the theme of "Justorum Animae" in Brahmsian style, The Cantor now sings the Kaddish in traditional cantorial fashion; the chorus intones the "Lord's Prayer" on a simple C octave. This mixture, which at first seems a bit out of sync, gradually comes together and reaches the final climax on the words, "For Yours is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory for ever, Amen." At this point the instruments cut out and the atmosphere becomes one reminiscent of the synagogue. the chorus backs up the Cantor, singing only the word "Amen" over and over, while the Cantor completes the "Mourner's Kaddish" with the words "Grant peace for us and all Israel." It is here that the Cantor is given a chance to improvise and ornament as much as he wishes. The Reader then recites the moving words from the Union Prayer Book for Jewish Worship which pray for the rest of the departed souls. The last sound that is heard is the sound of a distant flute playing the melody of "Justorum Animae". it is the song of the departed soul, now free of all encumbrances, which fades away into Eternity.

"What's most fascinating about this 10-movement work scored for a cantorial tenor, two female soloists, mixed choir, and orchestra, though, is that its premise is absolutely valid. For despite intense, long-lasting, probably irreconcilable differences in theology, Judaism and Christianity are connected liturgically-from the beginning. As the Latin-Hebrew glossary supplied by Naxos shows, there is a shared vocabulary. Occasional lines of prayer are davined almost identically by rabbis and priests alike. The Sanctus, for example, comes from the prophet Isaiah and turns up in the Siddur, the Jewish book of prayer...

"Beveridge brings the traditions together in some very clever ways. In the opening Kaddish movement, for example, the Jewish Prayer for the Dead is presented in the spirit of the church's doxology-a prayer of Thanksgiving-which, in truth, is just what it is. In II, 'Te decet hymnus' becomes a mid-eastern dance with a real Yiddishe twist to it; and there's a hand-in-glove musical juxtaposition of the Festival Amidah (Standing Prayer) and the 'Domine Jesu' in IV.

"The excellence of Norman Scribner's Choral Arts Society is a longstanding tradition in the nation's capital, and the orchestra is full of players from the National Symphony, so this is not your usual pick-up band."

- American Record Guide (Philip Greenfield)