A transformation wrought from terror

Editor’s note: The following article was written by Barry James Hamlette ‘79, a former member of the Lehigh University Choir and a professional singer.

I attended the premiere of Steven Sametz’s A Child’s Requiem on March 5 at the University of Connecticut. Sametz is the director of Choral Arts at Lehigh. The Requiem is a commissioned work, winning the 10th Raymond and Beverly Sackler Music Composition Prize from the University of Connecticut.

A Child’s Requiem was inspired by the murder of 20 children and six teachers at  Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012. It explores the stages of grief and the eventual healing process that were triggered by that heinous event.

The debut performance was stunning. It featured the University of Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir, the Chorus Angelicus Children’s Choir, soprano Janani Sridhar and tenor Gregory Zavracky, under the direction of Jamie Spillane.

The piece opened with the sounds of a children’s choir gathered behind a band shell. The kids are giggling and chatting, and then—sudden, sharp percussive noises from the orchestra and the kids come into view lined up hand-in-hand. As they process onto the stage, they continuously whisper, “Stay in line....Hold hands....Keep your eyes closed….”

The children were dressed as typical school children in bright pastel colored clothes, contrasting with the adults already on stage who were wearing traditional tuxedos and gowns.
 
The libretto included excerpts from classic poets such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Emily Dickinson mixed with poems and quotes written recently by children all over the country as well as lines penned by Sametz. In a multimedia display, projection screens also showed drawings by children who had been asked to express their personal feelings on the tragedy.

The words from the young survivors of violence served to underscore the message of continuing pain. The exchanges between the children’s choir in their singing and speaking roles, and the adult choir as parents and teachers, were very moving.

In the course of the piece, Sametz lovingly and smoothly transforms the children from innocent beings in a safe learning environment into the comforters of caregivers in an unimaginable situation. The music itself was brilliant, forceful and determined at times, calming at times, with swirling crescendos representing the wailing of adults expressing anguish and frustration at their sudden loss.

Sametz stresses that the connection between child and adult is eternal, and does not end with death. To complement the orchestra, he uses a toy piano sound to plink out the main motif in the final movement. The piece resolves into a message of hope, and the music beautifully represents the emotional raising of the souls.

Sametz is a Connecticut native, and it is obvious that this wonderful piece reflects a deeply personal experience. He did an incredible amount of research and study, and he managed to compose the entire work in only three weeks.

A Requiem is a musical piece that serves as a Mass for the dead. Sametz has created a piece that also commemorates the lives of the children lost, and the strength and courage of the living. A Child’s Requiem works as a beautiful tribute to all of their spirits.
 
The piece will be performed in Bethlehem later this year.

Story by Barry James Hamlette ‘79