MOTET: memento mori

Complete Work Title: 

MOTET: memento mori [in memoriam Veronica Klein]


Performance Medium: 

four solo voices (SATB)


Duration: 

c.6:00


Dedication: 

to the memory of my grandmother, Veronica Klein


Date Composed: 

February - April 1988


Performance/Broadcast History: 
  • 2 May 1991; Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago, IL)

    Northeastern Illinois University Student Vocal Ensemble

  • 16 February 1990: Capital University (Columbus, OH) — SCI/NOW Music Festival
  • 26 October 1989: Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)
  • 5 March 1989; Centre College (Danville, KY)
  • 3 March 1989; Indiana University (Bloomington, IN)
  • 25 October 1988; Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) [premiere]

    members of the Indiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble


Program Notes: 

MOTET: memento mori was composed between February and April of 1988 and is dedicated to the memory of the composer's grandmother, Veronica Klein. The work is essentially an asymmetrical tripartite arch-structure (the closing section being a simultaneous progressive and retrogressive encapsulation of the opening), though divisions within and between sections are often obscured by the nearly continuous metamorphosis of musical material. Textual materials consist of isolated phonemes in various combinations, which coalesce into brief moments of quasi-semantic coherence. Transformations of rhythmic density, shifting temporal relationships, and the expansion/contraction of the pitch spectrum result in varying degrees of contrapuntal interplay throughout the work.

MOTET: memento mori was first performed by members of the Indiana University Contemporary Vocal Ensemble on 25 October 1988.