From Darkness to Light
September 19, 2026, 7:30 pm at the Belle Mehus Auditorium
The BMSO pays tribute to the 25th Anniversary of September 11, 2001, and celebrates the 250th Birthday of America with the North Dakota Premiere of Can(n)ons of Freedom by Chris Brubeck, and the powerful Mozart Requiem with the Bismarck Mandan Civic Chorus and soloists Korliss Uecker, Tammy Hensrud, Emerson Eads and Jason Thoms.
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Program
Can(n)ons of Freedom......................Chris Brubeck (1952 - )
Blades of Grass...............................Romeo Cascarino (1922 - 2002)
Tonya Mertz, English Horn
Hymn to the Lost and the Living................Eric Ewazen (1954 - )
God Bless America.................................Irving Berlin (1888 - 1989), Arr. Bruce Healey
INTERMISSION
Requiem K.. 526.....................Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr (1766-1803)
Introitus: Requiem aeternam
Kyrie
Sequentia: Dies irae, Tuba mirum, Rex tremendae, Recordare, Confutatis,
Lacrimosa
Offtertorium: Domine Jesu, Hostias
Sanctus
Benedictus
Agnus Dei
Communio: Lux aeterna, Cum sanctis tuis
Korliss Uecker, Tammy Hensrud, Emerson Eads, Jason Thoms, Bismarck-Mandan Civic Chorus
Prayer of Tagore.........................Words by Rabindranath Tagore, music by Emerson Eads
Program Notes
Can(n)ons of Freedom
Chris Brubeck
In 1775 a group of courageous colonists decided that they would risk everything to live free and not yield to the dictatorial control and disruptive whims of a king! This is the original spirit of resistance that led to the Revolutionary War, our Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and an unending quest for a truly democratic republic. But these grand ideals had to be backed up by bold action. Charles Peltz, the Music Director of the Glens Falls Symphony, has collaborated with me on other patriotic orchestral works and asked me to compose a new work to celebrate an incredible chapter in our military history that surprised the world in the early days of The American War of Independence.
George Washington’s all-volunteer army was vastly outnumbered and outgunned by England's professional military’s occupation of Boston. However, Washington's generals came up with an ingenious plan; capture the lightly defended Fort Ticonderoga and “repurpose” the 59 cannons, mortars and ammunition. Bolder yet, construct large sleds, powered by teams of oxen and horses to haul the tons of cannons across a frozen Lake George, then pull the heavy artillery over the icy, hard ground, sliding over the cushioning snow left by “providential" blizzards across New York State and Massachusetts. The ragtag caravan struggled all the way to the hills above Boston where the British were stationed as the occupying force. This entire military operation was conducted in secret and only when the British Army woke up to see the stolen cannons from Ticonderoga pointing down on them from Dorchester Heights in March of 1776 did the Redcoats realize they were outwitted, outmaneuvered and forced to retreat from Boston Harbor with over 9,000 troops. In modern parlance the British Army and Navy were caught with their pants down and with great humiliation had to sail out of Boston. The British Empire was humbled and King George III was apoplectic about the audacity of George Washington and our all-volunteer army. He would have his revenge!
To paint this revolutionary story with music, I employ timpani with glissando pedals, bass drum, military snare and field drum rhythms, layered with low brass and strings to evoke the cannon-hauling over the frozen New England 300-mile route. Some melodic ideas are inspired by authentic fife and drum corps tunes played during the Revolutionary War. In music, a canon is a repeating musical theme that folds back in on itself very much like a round. So there are two kinds of Can(n)ons represented with this new work. The sounds and compositional techniques work together to salute those patriotic warriors, in most cases just a generation beyond immigrating from Europe in order to find freedom and opportunity in the American Colonies. As our country looks forward in 2026 to its 250th birthday, it is important to look to the past and honor the history of our founding fathers, clever and educated patriots, who fought alongside brave farmers and tradesmen who made the highest sacrifices. They left their families behind to serve the high ideals of a nation based on laws and guaranteed freedoms. Collectively, our American ancestors worked together and pushed our newborn democracy into a revolutionary reality. Their stunning story is the musical inspiration for “Can(n)ons of Freedom.”
-Chris Brubeck- Danbury CT, December, 2025
Blades of Grass was inspired by the poem Grass by Carl Sandburg (1878-1967):
Pile the bodies high at Austerliz and Waterloo,
Shovel them under and let me work-
I am the grass; I cover all.
And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor: What place is this?
Where are we now?
I am the grass.
Let me work.
Sandburg's poem addresses several aspects of war, among which the incalculable cost in human lives and the ease with which later generations forget that cost are forefront. Grass was published in 1918 after the end of World War I in the collection Cornhuskers. Sandburg was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for that body of work.
On September 11, 2001, I was teaching my music theory class at the Juilliard School, when we were notified of the catastrophe that was occurring several miles south of us in Manhattan. Gathering around a radio in the school's library, we heard the events unfold in shock and disbelief. Afterwards, walking up Broadway on the sun-filled day, the street was full of silent people, all quickly heading to their homes. During the next several days, our great city became a landscape of empty streets and impromptu, heartbreaking memorials mourning our lost citizens, friends and family. But then on Friday, a few days later, the city seemed to have been transformed. On this evening, walking up Broadway, I saw multitudes of people holding candles, singing songs, and gathering in front of those memorials, paying tribute to the lost, becoming a community of citizens of this city, of this country and of this world, leaning on each other for strength and support.
A Hymn for the Lost and the Living portrays those painful days following September 11th, days of supreme sadness. It is intended to be a memorial for those lost souls, gone from this life, but who are forever treasured in our memories.
A Hymn for the Lost and the Living was commissioned by and is dedicated to the U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, Major Larry H. Lang, director.
- Program Note by composer
Irving Berlin wrote God Bless America in 1918 while serving in the U.S. Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York, but decided that it did not fit in a revue called Yip Yip Yaphank, so he set it aside. The lyrics at that time included the line "Make her victorious on land and foam, God bless America..." as well as "Stand beside her and guide her to the right with the light from above".
In 1938, with the rise of Adolf Hitler, Irving Berlin, who was Jewish and had arrived in America from Russia at the age of five, felt it was time to revive it as a "peace song," and it was introduced on an Armistice Day broadcast in 1938, sung by Kate Smith on her radio show.
God Bless America takes the form of a prayer (intro lyrics "as we raise our voices, in a solemn prayer") for God's blessing and peace for the nation ("...stand beside her and guide her through the night...").
- Program Note from Wikipedia
Mozart Requiem
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem is one of the most shrouded,emotionally heavy, and enduring masterpieces in Western music history. Composed in 1791, it stands as a monument to human mortality, structured around a web of real-world tragedies and profound mysteries.
A Requiem" is a Catholic Latin Mass for the dead, designed to pray for the souls of the deceased. In the summerof 1791, a mysterious, cloaked stranger approached a terminally ill Mozart with an anonymous commission for a funeral mass. We now know it was Count Franz von Walsegg—a nobleman who intended to pass the piece off as his own to honor his late wife. Unaware of the Count's identity, a paranoid, feverish Mozart became convinced that the stranger was a messenger from the underworld and that he was being forced to compose his own funeral mass. Mozart died on December 5, 1791, at just 35 years old, leaving the work heavily incomplete. He had only fully finished the opening section.
His student, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, filled in the gaps, sketched out the rest, and completed the manuscript so Mozart’s widow, Constanze, could collect the payment. Just days after his death, portions of the freshly written, uncompleted Requiem were performed at a memorial service for Mozart at St. Michael's Church in Vienna.
Mozart's Requiem was also famously performed at many other funerals, including for Beethoven, Chopin, Napoleon Bonaparte, and John F. Kenedy. It also became tied to the 9/11 terrorist attack. On September 11, 2002—the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks—Mozart’s Requiem became the focal point of a global, historic act of collective mourning known as The Rolling Requiem. The project was conceived as a way to use music to span the globe and unite humanity across borders. Through this global event, Mozart’s final work fulfilled its ultimate purpose—giving communities around the world a shared language to process overwhelming grief and honor the dead.
Prayer of Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali—literally "song offerings"—is a collection of poems that earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. In "Gitanjali 35," Tagore imagines a world where the mind is without fear, where knowledge is free, where words come out from the depth of truth. The repeated "where" keeps the poem suspended: we move through a series of seven visions without knowing exactly where they lead. Only in the final line do we discover that Tagore has been offering a prayer.
The line that first spoke to me was "Where words come out from the depth of truth." I built the piece around the sound of that "where." The opening and closing chord consists of two perfect fifths, stacked a semitone apart. The perfect fifth is among the most stable intervals in Western music; yet placed against its neighboring fifth, it becomes strangely unsettled. It is stable, but we do not quite know where it belongs. I think of it as the "where chord." The harmony makes audible what the poem leaves unanswered: where? The question remains open.
Tagore wrote these words in the context of India's struggle for independence, but their questions of fear, freedom, truth, and human possibility continue to resonate—perhaps even more vividly today. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to set this extraordinary text for Korliss Uecker and Tammy Hensrud; for the wonderful Bismarck-Mandan Civic Chorus, led by Tom Porter; for my friend Beverly Everett; and for the wonderful Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. Thank you, Bismarck!
- Emerson Eads, composer
Mozart Requiem Translation
1. Requiem aeternam
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, Grant them eternal rest, O Lord
et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine on them.
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion, You are praised, God, in Zion,
et tibi reddetur votum and homage will be paid to You in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam, Hear my prayer,
ad te omnis care veniet. to You all flesh will come.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine on them.
2. Kyrie
Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christe, eleison. Christ, have mercy on us.
Kyrie, eleison. Lord, have mercy on us.
Sequence
3. Dies irae 3. Dies irae
Dies irae, dies illa Day of wrath, day of anger
solvet saeclum in favilla, will dissolve the world in ashes,
teste David cum Sibylla. as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Quantus tremor est futurus, Great trembling there will be
quando judex est venturus, when the Judge descends from heaven
cuncta stricte discussurus! to examine all things closely.
4. Tuba mirum 4. Tuba mirum
Tuba mirum spargens sonum The trumpet will send its wondrous sound
per sepulcra regionum, throughout earth’s sepulchres
coget omnes ante thronum. and gather all before the throne.
Mors stupebit et natura, Death and nature will be astounded,
cum resurget creatura, when all creation rises again,
judicanti responsura. to answer the judgement.
Liber scriptus proferetur, A book will be brought forth,
in quo totum continetur, in which all will be written,
unde mundus judicetur. by which the world will be judged.
Judex ergo cum sedebit, When the judge takes his place,
quidquid latet, apparebit, what is hidden will be revealed,
nil inultum remanebit. nothing will remain unavenged.
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? What shall a wretch like me say?
quem patronum rogaturus, Who shall intercede for me,
cum vix justus sit securus? when the just ones need mercy?
5. Rex tremendae 5. Rex tremendae
Rex tremendae majestatis, King of tremendous majesty,
qui salvandos savas gratis, who freely saves those worthy ones,
salve me, fons pietatis. save me, source of mercy.
6. Recordare 6. Recordare
Recordare, Jesu pie, Remember, kind Jesus,
quod sum causa tuae viae; my salvation caused your suffering;
ne me perdas illa die. do not forsake me on that day.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus, Faint and weary you have sought me,
redemisti crucem passus; redeemed me, suffering on the cross;
tantus labor non sit cassus. may such great effort not be in vain.
Juste judex ultionis, Righteous judge of vengeance,
donum fac remissionis grant me the gift of absolution
ante diem rationis. before the day of retribution.
Ingemisco, tamquam reus: I moan as one who is guilty:
culpa rubet vultus meus; owning my shame with a red face;
supplicanti parce, Deus. suppliant before you, Lord.
Qui Mariam absolvisti, You, who absolved Mary,
et latronem exaudisti, and listened to the thief,
mihi quoque spem dedisti. give me hope also.
reces meae non sunt dignae, My prayers are unworthy,
sed tu, bonus, fac benigne, but, good Lord, have mercy,
ne perenni cremer igne. and rescue me from eternal fire.
Inter oves locum praesta, Provide me a place among the sheep,
Et ab haedis me sequestra, and separate me from the goats,
Statuens in parte dextra. guiding me to Your right hand.
7. Confutatis 7. Confutatis
Confutatis maledictis, When the accused are confounded,
flammis acribus addictis, and doomed to flames of woe,
voca me cum benedictus. call me among the blessed.
Oro supplex et acclinis, I kneel with submissive heart,
cor contritum quasi cinis, my contrition is like ashes,
gere curam mei finis. Help me in my final condition.
8. Lacrimosa
Lacrimosa dies illa, That day of tears and mourning,
qua resurget ex favilla when from the ashes shall arise,
judicandus homo reus. all humanity to be judged.
Huic ergo parce, Deus, Spare us by your mercy, Lord,
pie Jesu Domine, gentle Lord Jesus,
dona eis requiem. Amen. grant them eternal rest. Amen.
Offertory
9. Domine Jesu 9. Domine Jesu
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
libera animas omnium fidelium liberate the souls of the faithful,
defunctorum de poenis inferni departed from the pains of hell
et de profundo lacu. and from the bottomless pit.
Libera eas de ore leonis, Deliver them from the lion's mouth,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus, lest hell swallow them up,
ne cadant in obscurum. lest they fall into darkness.
Sed signifer sanctus Michael Let the standard-bearer, holy Michael,
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam. bring them into holy light.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti Which was promised to Abraham
et semini ejus. and his descendants.
10. Hostias 10. Hostias
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, Sacrifices and prayers of praise, Lord,
laudis offerimus. we offer to You.
Tu sucipe pro animabus illis, Receive them in behalf of those souls
quaram hodie memoriam facimus. we commemorate today.
Fac eas, Domine, And let them, Lord,
de morte transire ad vitam, pass from death to life,
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti which was promised to Abraham
et semini ejus. And his descendants.
11. Sanctus 11. Sanctus
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Holy, Holy, Holy,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Lord God of Hosts.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua. Heaven and earth are full of they glory.
Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.
12. Benedictus 12. Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit Blessed is he who comes
in nomine Domini. in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in excelsis. Hosanna in the highest.
Agnus Dei
13. Agnus Dei 13. Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis Lamb of God, who takes away
peccata mundi, the sins of the world,
dona eis requiem. grant them eternal rest.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis Lamb of God, who takes away
peccata mundi, the sins of the world,
dona eis requiem. Grant them eternal rest.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis Lamb of God, who takes away
peccata mundi, the sins of the world,
dona eis requiem sempiternam. grant them eternal rest forever.
Communion
14. Lux aeterna
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine, Let eternal light shine on them, Lord,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, as with Your saints in eternity,
quia pius es. because You are merciful.
Requiem aeternum dona eis, Domine, Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
et Lux perpetua luceat eis, and let perpetual light shine on them,
cum Sanctus tuis in aeternum, as with Your saints in eternity,
uia pius es. because You are merciful.
Prayer of Tagore
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.