Thompson Requiem

One of the continual fascinations of contemporary music is the tension between originality and tradition arising from apparently conflicting ideals of being at once modern and timeless. While composers plead for the chance to break free from the constraints of the 18th and 19th Centuries, they tacitly concur with the critics (and the audiences), who cling to their touchstones, comparing every modern composition to the classical paragon in its form, usually harshly, often unfairly applying criteria that are not altogether suitable. The composer faces the choices of breaking definitely with the musical past; or creating a new mainstream of music by appealing to the pre-Palestrina composers; or deliberately continuing in the traditions of the great classical and romantic composers, risking invidious comparisons.

Randall Thompson has chosen the last course, bringing a modern harmonic vocabulary to the forms and even the styles of the classical composers. His most distinctive characteristic--the parallel chordal progressions and the contrary motion of mirroring lines shows the same concern for pattern that characterizes baroque music. His counterpoint is at times almost indistinguishable from late baroque, especially in his formal fugues, and he avoids the unusual intervals of contemporary music in favor of more traditional linear movement.

The Requiem, besides being firmly enmeshed in familiar traditions, is a large, imposing work; it is a tribute to it to compare it with the outstanding works of choral literature because in many ways it belongs among them. The opening section, "Lamentations, and Mourning," has the sustained beauty, completely worked-out structure, and unerring poise that are identified only with the very greatest works of art, and on the strength of the section alone, the Requiem must be considered as an important and very fine contribution.

Although the rest of the Requiem never regains the magnificence of this opening movement, there are other high points, including the tender "Sing with the Spirit," the moving "Walk as Children of Light," and the virtuosic "Sing unto Him." Throughout the piece, Thompson demonstrates his absolute command of the choral idiom, and ability to produce a variety of effects without lapsing into mere showiness. His cadences perhaps lean too heavily on the received value of a rich pianissimo close, but, for the most part he does not substitute sound effects for more serious and difficult musical tasks, but uses the double chorus as one more element of depth in the composition.

The main criticism that can be directed at the Requiem is the prominence of the text, and the presence of several passages which do little more than declaim words, detracting from the musical interest and continuity. Since the text is not liturgical, but rather passages from the Bible chosen by the composer, he wishes to focus interest on it as well as on the music. But these are not always compatible ends, and the integrity of the musical parts suffers as a consequence.

Friday night's performance by the Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society, led by Elliot Forbes, surmounted the considerable technical difficulties of the work, but threatened to break upon the Scylla of a capella singing, intonation. The intra-chorus work was satisfactory, with the exception of several bewildering opening bars of various sections; but as each part went on, the chorus, depressed by a rather cowardly soprano section, sank lower and lower, and at the end of the second movement was grovelling around a third lower than was written, producing the weird impression of a record being played one speed too slowly.

Aside from this unfortunate bugbear, the performance was very good, with the soft sections that the chorus does so well coming over especially beautifully. The very fast passage work was a little blurred, and the diction is not as clear as it has been. But the sensationalism, the milking of each piece for the last ounce of "effect" has also gone, and the resulting straight readings are more honest and rewarding. This was particularly evident in Bach's Motet No. 1, also for double chorus, a capella, which preceded the Thompson.

Once, again, Professor Forbes's attention to work as a whole was a major factor, emphasizing both the weaknesses and the strengths of the Requiem. Not even the most careful planning can smooth away structural choppiness; but it assures to the best parts a sense of form, an awareness of climax, and a true finality at the ending.