About the piece
A movement of lament from the Day of Wrath: “Lacrimosa dies illa” (“Tearful will be that day”). The edition, 30 measures in 12/8, carries soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
How to prepare it
It is an intermediate-to-advanced piece with a sighing motif (pairs of descending notes) that should sound like restrained weeping. The sopranos span C♯4–A5 (a minor thirteenth), the altos A3–D5 (an eleventh), the tenors E3–G4 (a minor tenth) and the basses F2–D4 (a major thirteenth). The 12/8 is felt in four pulses of three eighths, with a syncopated rhythm in the accompaniment: rehearse it slowly, counting the long pulse. Ask each voice to diminish at the end of each phrase, like a sigh.
When to use it
Music for funerals and for Lenten liturgy, and one of the most recognizable pages of the Requiem in concerts.