For modern concert-goers, the term Requiem conjures up works by Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi and Britten, all of whom used considerable orchestral and choral resources to depict heaven, hell and the last judgement. The Missa pro defunctis, composed by Tomás Luis Victoria is a requiem of a very different kind. This work succeeds in portraying the gamut of human emotions with great intensity, dealing with themes of life and death while using only the human voice. This requiem is the inspiration and the departure point for a new work by Gordon Kerry, commissioned by Robert Lewis for the ACC.

Gordon’s new work takes the form of  interpolations between an exquisite array of Renaissance choral music, sacred and secular. The entire performance tells a story of how we deal with loss and sadness.