Ian Venables is known mostly as a composer of songs and chamber music; vocal and choral composers go together in the output of many composers, but not in his. His Requiem, Op. 48 (the use of the old opus numbers convention is a clue to Venables' traditionalist orientation), is a commissioned work. It took shape over several years, almost reluctantly at first, according to the composer, and this seems to show in the final result. The music goes through a wide variety of moods before ending with a warm, consoling, and ...
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Ian Venables is known mostly as a composer of songs and chamber music; vocal and choral composers go together in the output of many composers, but not in his. His Requiem, Op. 48 (the use of the old opus numbers convention is a clue to Venables' traditionalist orientation), is a commissioned work. It took shape over several years, almost reluctantly at first, according to the composer, and this seems to show in the final result. The music goes through a wide variety of moods before ending with a warm, consoling, and ultimately radiant Lux aeterna. This is not a fault but makes Venables play to his strengths. The music is highly text-based (not easy for a Catholic mass), and he responds to the texts in detail as a song composer would. There is no Dies irae and no In paradisum, perhaps in line with the French models Venables looked to for the work, but the role of implacable death is filled by the Libera me, and this movement again illustrates the role of song writing in Venables' thinking. The organ...
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