DE PROFUNDIS ( a Requiem ) Text from the letter/book De Profundis by Oscar Wilde Extracted and Edited by Dwight Bernard Mikkelsen Originally commissioned and premiered by the Arlington-Belmont Chamber Choir. Scored for Choir and 2 Pianos 6 Movements Total Length is 21:00 - 23:00 Score and all parts prepared with Finale and spiral bound Sample score pages below While in prison Oscar Wilde wrote a lengthy letter (30,000 words – longer than Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice!) to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, whom he called Bosie. This letter, which Wilde called De Profundis, is a remarkable document because it offers the closest look – indeed, perhaps the only look – at the real Oscar Wilde and, as such, it ranks with the most intimate documents we have of any historical figure. Some biographers pass it off as being too full of anger to be valid, others hold that it is nothing more than finger pointing at Bosie. I disagree. To be sure, he points out a number of base things Bosie did but he does not blame or finger point. Instead, Wilde not only assumes full responsibility for his condition, he also expresses his love for Bosie many times. It is a sincere work; despairing, sorrowful, and desperate. That it comes from the pen of a great writer who always embeds an incredible aesthetic makes it poignant; that it is autobiographical makes it painful; that it is true makes it tragic. And it is replete with moments of absolute beauty. The narrative contour of the text speaks of a lovely life followed by a death followed by a rebirth and this is what started me thinking along the lines of a requiem. Wilde himself referred to the letter in Latin: “Epistola: in Carcere et Vinculus”, which means “Letter: in Prison and Chains”. So what’s the natural thing to do when you have a requiem on one hand and Latin words on the other? That’s right! Palestrina! To me, it all makes sense: Wilde uses Latin, the text is a conceptual requiem and, let’s face it, Palestrina is the master of the requiem. So I open a book of his masses and the first one I see is Missa O Magnum Mysterium. While marveling over Sanctus II, one of the most perfect things ever created, I notice that it starts in D minor (the key of death or the sorrow of death) and ends on an A major chord. What could be better? I then decide how to handle the opening movement: I copy Palestrina’s music verbatim and put Wilde’s Latin under it. And it works! Beautifully! The rest of the piece is definitely 21st century: the only atonal movement is called Ruin; everything else sounds tonal but not in a IV-V-I type way. There is quite a bit of lovely 21st century polyphony. The pathos and serene elation are to die for. Available for performance only. I would love to have a good reason to orchestrate this piece! Contact me mailto:Info@NoteSlinger.com?subject=About%20De%20Profundis...shapeimage_1_link_0
 
 
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0. EPISTOLA: IN CARCERE ET VINCULUS ( Letter: In Prison and Chains ) Epistola: In Carcere et Vinculus 1. WHEN WE BEGIN When we begin to live, What is sweet is so sweet, That we direct all our desires Towards pleasure. I had genius, A distinguished name, Brilliancy, intellectual daring; I made art philosophy, Philosophy art. I altered minds And the colors of things. 2. ILLUSIONS I had illusions: I thought life a brilliant comedy; I found it A revolting and repellent tragedy. I surrounded myself with smaller natures; I became the spendthrift Of my own genius; I went in search of new sensation; Desire was a malady, a madness, or both. 3. RUIN Ruin followed Like the echo of a bitter cry Or the shadow that hunts With the beast of prey. I ended in horrible disgrace. Messenger of death Brought me his tidings. Vanity barred up the windows And the warder was hate. Sorrow after sorrow Has come beating at the prison doors; They have opened the gates wide And let them in. 4. MY NATURE, MY SOUL Out of my nature has come wild despair, An abandonment to grief, Terrible and impotent rage, Bitterness and scorn, Anguish that wept aloud, Sorrow that could find no voice. To die was my one desire. After a time that evil mood passed away, And I made up my mind to live. It was my soul that I had reached. 5. HARMONY I am conscious now That behind all this beauty There is some spirit hidden; And it is with this spirit That I desire to become in harmony. Nature, whose sweet rains Fall on unjust and just alike, Will have clefts in rocks Where I may hide, And secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undisturbed. She will hang the night with stars So that I may walk abroad In the darkness without stumbling, And send the wind over my footprints So that none may track me to my hurt. She will cleanse me in great waters, And with bitter herbs make me whole.
DE  PROFUNDIS
A  REQUIEM
 
Text  from  the  letter/book  by  Oscar  Wilde
Extracted  and  Edited  by  Dwight  Bernard  Mikkelsen
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