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Requiem
Published: 9/11/2012 8:21 AM
Last Modified: 9/11/2012 10:38 AM

While I -- as do most Americans -- remember where I was and what I was doing on Sept. 11, 2001, what I prefer to remember on this day is where I was on Sept. 11, 2002.

David Rollo, who directed an ensemble called the Coventry Chorale, arranged for a group of Tulsa singers and musicians to be a part of what was called "The Rolling Requiem," sequential performances of Mozart's Requiem that would begin at 8:46 a.m. in every time zone in the world, so that Mozart's mass in honor of the dead would circle the globe.

The story I wrote that day concluded in this manner:

And this is perhaps the image one should take away from "The Rolling Requiem" -- a small group of voices, joined together in harmony, praying for mercy for the living and rest for the dead, a moment both out of time and still very much a part of something that fills the world.

At the conclusion of the Requiem, the powerful notes of "Quia pius es (For You are merciful)," the crowd rose to its feet and applauded for as long as it took for the singers and musicians to exit the sanctuary -- an ovation of nearly three minutes.

And as the crowd made its way outside the church, the bell at Trinity Episcopal began to sound. It would continue to sound at 12-second intervals throughout the day, until it had tolled 3,043 times: one for each victim of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Tulsa performance of "The Rolling Requiem" was the only one that took place in the U.S. Central Time Zone -- the lone voice, as if were, crying out from the plains.

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Archive

Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

James D. Watts Jr's Blog Archive:

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