Requiem for the Transient

Requiem for the Transient is a six-movement piece of music for full orchestra and choir. The six movements are the “Prelude,” “Introit,” “Sequentia,” “Agnus Dei,” “Lux Aeterna,” and “In Paradisum,” As with most Requiems, the music is a setting of prayers from the Roman Missal. Historically composers have used various prayer choices, sometimes even including texts outside of the Missal. Requiem for the Transient contains only one source of text outside of the Missal; the first movement, “Prelude”, uses text from the New King James version of Ecclesiastes 12:1-7.

This document will compare and contrast Requiem for the Transient with other works from the twentieth and twenty-first century with a focus on the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic construction of key sections of music. The Requiem will also be compared to other notable Requiems ranging back as far as Mozart. This thesis will provide an explanation of compositional approaches to show the musical influences that have directly, or indirectly, influenced the writing of Requiem for the Transient.