Requiem for a Digital Age
Michael Nunes
Ensemble: Wind Ensemble
Additional Performing Forces: Audio Track
Grade: 5
Duration: 10:00
Year of Composition: 2020
Commissioned by: University of Toronto Wind Ensemble (Gillian MacKay, director)
Premiered by: University of Toronto Wind Ensemble (Gillian MacKay, director)
Date of Premiere: January 25, 2021
Publisher: self-published
Available: Yes
How to Acquire: Composer
Links:
Flutes 1,2
Oboes 1,2
Bassoons 1,2
B♭ Clarinets 1,2,3
B♭ Bass Clarinet
E♭ Alto Saxes 1,2
B♭ Tenor Sax
E♭ Baritone Sax
B♭ Trumpets 1,2,3
F Horns 1,2,3,4
Trombones 1,2
Bass Trombone
Euphonium
Tubas (div.)
Glockenspiel
Pre-recorded Electronic Tracks
Program Notes:
I wrote Requiem for a Digital Age as an undergraduate composer-in residence with the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble in autumn of 2020. As COVID-19 had made large ensemble rehearsals impossible to safely coordinate, our challenge was to find a way to engage the entire ensemble in collaborative music making—in real time, if possible. Early experiments with multiple players performing over video conferencing platforms proved futile; however, the software could be used to coordinate solo cues and backing track audio, with players recording themselves separately alongside the conference call.
Requiem for a Digital Age makes use of both cadenza-like call and response sections, as well as slow, slightly out-of-sync chords set against pre-recorded electronics. With a year as remarkably turbulent and tumultuous as 2020, I wanted to write something to acknowledge our unique position in history. I can personally attest to the now almost ubiquitous experience of logging on to a conference call full of dozens of muted, smiling faces, and the resultant jarring loss of natural ebb and flow of conversation. At the climax of the piece, everyone is artificially muted as the solo clarinet is left hanging—mirroring this now common experience. Humanity has suffered extreme grief and loss this year, and a requiem is only fitting; however, technology has allowed us to continue communicating, innovating, and heading towards a better future. I am confident that we will emerge with a newfound appreciation for everything life has to offer.
(Michael Nunes)
