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OATH BREAKER
a Requiem
I. Introit: Let’s Talk of Graves and Epitaphs
II. Kyrie eleison: The Effects of Fear
III. Dies Irae-This Day of Wrath: Cursed be the Hands that Made these Holes
IV. Offertory: We Lost Officers-Some Really Good Officers
V. Sanctus: Last, Best Hope
VI. Agnus Dei: His Rash, Fierce Blaze of Riot Cannot Last
VII. Lux aeterna: To Be Free
VIII. Libera Me: Grief Never Ends, but it Changes
Performers
Linda White, flutes, Emily Cornelius, violin,
Brian Slawta, viola, Trevor Kazarian, cello,
Eric Charnofsky, piano, Dylan Moffitt, percussion
Ty Alan Emerson, conductor
PROGRAM NOTES
This work is a reaction to the events of January 6, 2021, when a mob of over two thousand supporters of the “big lie” stormed the United States Capitol. Like many, I watched in horror as the events unfolded on national news feeds. It was like watching the Towers fall, or the space shuttle explode. I felt anger and helplessness, and sorrow and compassion for those killed or injured. But in the cases of the Towers or shuttle, I was somehow a little divorced. Stunned, yes, but able to accept that it was something done to us or something out of our control.
Unlike those tragedies, the perpetrators on January 6 were my fellow Americans, my neighbors. Even though I wasn’t there, this was an attack on me, my belief in our Constitution, my hopes for our Democracy. It was the ultimate peak of an era rife with division and the delusion that if you say something loud enough, it must be true. I could not hide from this event; it was far too personal. I set to work…
I gathered information, learned what I could from depositions and analysis, rescued tweets, and phone records. I read amendments to the Constitution and indictments. I witnessed citizens all around the country and in places just a town or two over, being arrested for their participation on that day. I struggled to process it all.
This work is not meant to underscore the video presented at the hearings or a series of chronological events. I chose the frame of a Requiem, because it is about emotional and spiritual process. Assembling it was a kind of spiritual process, helping me work through the events and manage the emotional impact of the all that followed.
It is my wish that by sharing this work, combined with our shared experiences, we ALL may process our grief and claw back some hope.
To view the text and program please visit:
https://www.chambercollective.org/posters-programs
- Genre
- Classical
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