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COMPLETE CD BOOKLET

DISTRIBUTION

& MANY OTHERS

For his final performance as Music Director and Conductor of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, Robert Page chose to commission a new work: Nancy Galbraith's Requiem. The work was declared "a masterpiece" by the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, and the performance "a fitting climax to 26 years of memorable music making."

Program notes by Robert Page:
"When Nancy and I first began discussing the work, it was just after the Mendelssohn Choir and I had commissioned and performed [her] stunning Missa Mysteriorum, scored for chorus and wind ensemble.
    "The magic of Nancy's work is in its incredible layers of sound, texture superimposed upon texture, yet surprisingly clear and understandable. Also important is her uncanny ability to deliver with equal impact passages of high, high energy and passages of awesome quietude. Melodically she spins wisps of sound in a most vulnerable manner, sweet without being cloying. Her frequent use of bi- and tri-tonality results in sonic skyscrapers. Much like Charles Ives, especially in his setting of Psalm 90, Nancy is a spatial composer, giving the listeners the feeling of being in one place and at the same time hearing and sensing other elements surrounding them.
    "Most important, Nancy writes for singers. She utilizes the complete range of the sections of the choir and in clever mosaic manner brings each of them to the front, so to speak. It is not just a soprano's world!
    "We are honored to present this wonderful musical gift to the world. We of The Mendelssohn adore Nancy, her work, her genuineness, her complete commitment to the art of Music, and praise her for her amazing creative abilities."