De Rerum Natura: On the Nature of the Universe
| Year | 2008-2010 |
De Rerum Natura is an epic poem written by the Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 99-55 BCE). We know little about Lucretius’s life beyond the fact that he was an adherent of Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who had lived two centuries before him. The poem, written for and dedicated to Lucretius’s friend Gaius Memmius, sets forth and expounds upon many of the ideas of Epicureanism – that the universe is governed by the motion of atoms, that we must conquer fear (particularly that of death), and that humanity must achieve its own salvation rather than petitioning it from the gods.
I have chosen one section from each of the six books, primarily dealing with these latter two themes, and written a setting for concert choir. A vast portion of vocal repertoire is sacred in nature, much of it endowed with great beauty, and I feel that this deeply moving medium can be employed to espouse ideals that are humanistic and avowedly secular.
In 2009, the first, second, and third movements of De Rerum Natura received the National Federation of Music Clubs Award for Choral Composition.
The first four movements were performed on Monday, November 16, 2009 by the following performers:
Kristin DeGroot, Jasmine Haghighatian, Megan Radowick, Bronwyn White, soprano
Heather Blount, Roxanna Tehrani, alto
Lorenzo Garcia, Emmanuel Medina, Rafael Moras, Darius Thomas, tenor
Anthony Garant, Christopher Garcia, Jeffery Hunter, Adrian Kirtley, bass
A special thank you to Andrea Cerda and Amanda Cullom, who helped prepare the piece but could not join us on the concert.
By Movement: I • II • III • IV • V • VI
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