Aaron Gohlke "Requiem"

[pianoguy]

At the age of 20, inspired by the suicide of a close friend's father, Aaron Gohlke composed this orchestral Requiem.

1: Abyss

2: Rain

3: Universe

There are some crudities, both in the composition and the orchestration - I'm his teacher, so he's heard this already - but Aaron's mastery of the structure, and the music's power and sincerity, are deeply impressive.

Two different spaces were used in the realization - the Pernegg Monastery for the first movement, and the Sage concert hall for the second and third movements. All instruments are VSL with the exception of the solo voices, for which Aaron wanted less vibrato than the VSL solo voice libraries provide. The library we ended up using ... well, I'm not entirely dissatisfied with the results, but I came away more thankful than ever for the relative consistency of VSL libraries.

Enjoy!

Mark Arnest

[Jos Wylin]

Hi Mark,

This is quite an accomplishment! I listened to it in 'episodes' and found it very interesting as to harmony and atmosphere. The choir in the first part isn't quite my taste, but the whole piece breathes grief and mourn. The subject alone is so delicate that a musical translation is, no matter how, almost bound to exaggerate and overaccentuate emotions and feelings. But it never happend. Everything remains calm and peaceful, solemn at moments and expressing respect and acceptance.

An example for the kind mourning music.

Jos

[pianoguy]

Hi Jos,

I'll pass your sentiments along to Aaron, who will greatly appreciate them. I agree with you about the piece's tone - and it's especially impressive considering that Aaron's foundation in music is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which is hardly known for delicacy!

Many thanks for your reply.

--Mark