Ars Nova Singers provide peace and serenity
The Ars Nova Singers once again performed a truly outstanding program. Their performance at the St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral on Washington Street here in Denver on Friday, March 12, introduced the audience to three Requiem Masses, all of them very different. The first Requiem was composed by Jean Richafort (1480-1547), the second Requiem by Herbert Howells (1892-1983), and the third Requiem by the Italian composer, Ildebrando Pizzetti (1880-1968).
A Requiem Mass is, of course, a funeral Mass, and in many periods of music history it has been proven to be more often performed than the regular Mass. It differs from the regular Mass in that the joyful portions are omitted, and the sequence Dies Irae followed by the Tuba Mirum is inserted. In addition, instead of the Ite Missa Est, which comes at the end of the Mass, the Requiescant in pace (rest in peace) is added. 
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Robin McNeil lives with his wife in Littleton where he teaches piano privately and continues to do research on the French composer Théodore Gouvy and the Medieval Mass. McNeil is an honorary member of the Institut Théodore Gouvy of Hombourg-Haut, France; president of the Piano Arts Association; and a member of the Henry Bradshaw Society (for the preservation and publication of rare liturgical documents).
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