GOTHAM REQUIEM.
Opus. 78
Instrumentation: Piano
Duration: 8 Minutes, One Movement
Commissioned by: Daniel Colallilo
Scroll down for program note and commissioner biography
PROGRAM NOTE.
When Daniel Colalillo asked me to write this piece, I felt an urge to give him and his audiences a small canvas painted with moments of church, of lockdown, of the dark, mahogany chords of early jazz. I spent all of the Spring 2020 lockdown in my NYC apartment on West End Avenue in the 70s, and once a week I'd put on my gloves and mask and force myself out the door of the comforting fortress of my building, and I'd walk the three blocks to George and Ira Gershwin's apartment building on 33 Riverside Drive, and then stroll in the park for a few minutes before proceeding home. During this completely topsy-turvy, terrifying time where every morning we woke up to a nightmare that didn't have edges or texture or even a face, I felt a new type of safety in the arms of my neighborhood and its inhabitants, present and former.
For Gotham Requiem, I've taken the Kyrie Eleison Gregorian chant, whose latin text means "God have mercy", and reshaped it with harmonies in comforting colors that remind me of George.... this is a work born out of that which gave me solace during such a strange chapter of humanity: the ancient, sacred space of higher powers, and the tangible echoes of a life whose artwork has provided so much joy in mine
Details // Concert Prep
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commissioner biography.
The Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa has established himself as one of the most charismatic, innovative, and engaging performers of his generation. Mr. Mesa was the winner of the $50,000 First Prize in the 2016 Sphinx Competition; the Thaviu Competition for String Performance (Chicago, 2013); The Astral Artists 2017 National Auditions; and the Alhambra Orchestra Concerto Competition. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras in the United States and Mexico, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Santa Barbara Symphony, Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra which received this rave review from the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “A listener with closed eyes would have been hard pressed to distinguish [Mesa’s] shapely, expressive performance from that of another gifted artist two or three times his age.”
As a recitalist, appearances include the Mainly Mozart Festival, The Academy of Arts and Letters in NYC, Bargemusic, University of Miami’s Signature Series, Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series, Columbia University, Flagler Museum, Carnegie Hall, The U.S. Supreme Court, The Heifetz Institute, California Center for the Arts, Meadowmount School of Music, Strad for Lunch Series, International Beethoven Project, Perlman Music Program Alumni Recital, and universities nationwide.
As a recording artist, Thomas was featured on the GRAMMY-nominated album, “Bonhoeffer,” with the multiple GRAMMY winning group called The Crossing Choir. He has appeared with them as soloist at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, Longwood Gardens, The Winter Garden (broadcast on WNYC) and the Theological Seminary in New York City. Mr. Mesa and The Crossing also collaborated on the American premiere of “Astralis” for choir and solo cello by renowned composer Wolfgang Rihm and have more collaborations/premieres scheduled for future seasons. Other recording projects include the piano and cello works of Brahms, Beethoven, a whole album dedicated to the music of Debussy, and a special project in collaboration with PARMA Recordings in a “Call for Scores” that will bring together and record new works for solo cello and cello/piano. This project will include an album release concert at The DiMenna Center in New York City and the CD will be available on all commercial streaming platforms.