Work
Requiem Concerto
for violin, voices and chamber orchestra
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About
The word Requiem comes from the Latin "requies" [rest]. In choosing a text for my piece, I chose not to use the regular texts from the Roman Catholic Liturgy and decided to write my own. The piece is structured in a hybrid form combining both concerto elements with the multiple movement architecture and text setting of the Requiem.
The violinist is the protagonist whose melodies, rhythms and wide ranging emotions counterpoint the voices whose music is always lyrical and simple. At the time of writing this music I was not conscious of any particular emotion or statement, instead the music evolved and took it's own path. A new section would begin with a simple idea or "cell" and then expand in all directions until complete.
There are eight sections - seven with text and the penultimate movement (the longest in the piece and first composed) for violin and orchestra with no voices.
Requiem Concerto is in memory of my first wife Katherine (Kippy) Harris who was a violinist with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and my son Eliot Scholes.
Text note
Text by Peter Scholes
Performance history
09 Sep 2007: Performed by Dmitri Atanassov (violin), Patricia Wright, Morag Atchison (sopranos), Carmel Carroll (mezzo) and Wilson Downes (treble) and Auckland Chamber Orchestra conducted by Peter Scholes at the Town Hall, Auckland