Beveridge: Yizkor Requiem

"The music is understandably varied in style, but not in quality, which maintains a consistently high level...Beveridge's choral writing is skillful and quite moving, enhanced by effective orchestral scoring, all of which receives a committed and lively performance by the Choral Arts Society of Washington under Norman Scribner's enthusiastic direction. The well-balanced live recording really captures the sense of the occasion. Don't let the religious subject matter put you off; Beveridge's Yizkor Requiem offers a pleasurable and rewarding musical experience. And like Levi's Rye bread, you don't have to be Jewish (or in this case Catholic) to enjoy it." - Victor Carr Jr. Classics Today 24 June 2002

· Gramophone’s review of this disc praised Neville Marriner saying that he “conducts his musical forces not just with musical respect but apparent love” and that “Rabbi Rodney Mariner offers a commanding presence… any excuse to hear the piece performed with this level of musicianship is fine.”

“If Leonard Bernstein could write his theatrical Mass and an ecumenical Chichester Psalms, what's to stop a nice Episcopalian boy like Thomas Beveridge from writing his YizkorRequiem, a musical juxtaposition of the Jewish and Catholic memorial services? Indeed, the spirit of Bernstein hovers over the proceedings, with a few sprinkles of Verdi, Fauré, Stravinsky and Shostakovich to taste. But no matter how many voices clutter the background, the guiding personality is still Beveridge, who conceived the piece as a tribute to his choirmaster father.
Musically as well as theologically, the piece focuses less on mere juxtaposition than on actual integration. The text goes right to the source of the respective traditions, finding relationships and commonality in the roots of the Latin and Hebrew languages, which are extensively illuminated in the booklet-notes. Although he avoids any traditional tunes, Beveridge draws heavily on a handful of intervallic motifs, spinning an unapologetically tonal web where both traditions remain recognisable even as they point towards something new.
A former student of both Randall Thompson and Walter Piston, Washington-based Beveridge clearly knows how to put both orchestra and chorus in their best light. Rabbi Rodney Mariner offers a commanding presence, and Sir Neville Marriner (no relation) conducts his musical forces not just with musical respect but apparent love.
Unlike a lot of compositions released under the umbrella of the Milken Archive series, this work is strong enough to stand alone without the programmatic context of 'American Jewish Music'. Really, though, any excuse to hear the piece performed with this level of musicianship is fine.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“…a musical juxtaposition of the Jewish and Catholic memorial services? …the spirit of Bernstein hovers over the proceedings, with a few sprinkles of Verdi, Fauré, Stravinsky and Shostakovich to taste. …Beveridge clearly knows how to put both orchestra and chorus in their best light. Rabbi Rodney Mariner offers a commanding presence, and Sir Neville Marriner (no relation) conducts his musical forces not just with musical respect but apparent love.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2006