Soundtrack - Requiem for My Mother,Best Surround Sound album, Best Choral Performance, Best Music Film

Par Mulder, 25 octobre 2017

"I wrote Requiem For My Mother as a remembrance for my mother, Rosalie Edwards, whose passion for music transformed my life and was my constant inspiration. I began the Requiem as a way of dealing with my deep sense of loss at my mother's death in 2006" Stephen Edwards said.

Oscar-winning composer John Williams, calls the work "heart-felt and honest," and "a touching tribute to a Mother from a loving son , Requiem For My Mother by acclaimed composer Stephen Edwards was a ground breaking event, staged in one of the most beautiful and sacred places in the world, the Basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome. Featuring the 160-voice Continuo Arts Symphonic Chorus, including their 60-member children's choir, and the 50 piece City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Candace Wicke, the 11-movement work commemorates Edwards mother, and her influence on him – both personally and professionally – from his first music lessons as a child to his career as a professional film score composer.

Requiem For My Mother by acclaimed composer Stephen Edwards is now available on CD and DVD on iTunes, Amazon and other retailers nationwide. The recording, which features the 160-voice Continuo Arts Symphonic Chorus, including their 60-member children's choir, and the 50 piece City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, is under the direction of conductor Candace Wicke. This ground breaking event was staged in one of the most beautiful and sacred places in the world, the Basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola in Rome. The work is the soundtrack of the award-winning documentary of the same name to be aired on American Public Television nationwide in May 2017 in celebration of Mother's Day (check local listings).

Requiem For My Mother is an 11-movement major choral work written by Edwards to commemorate his mother's influence on him – both personally and professionally – from his first music lessons as a child to his career as a professional film score composer. Says Edwards, "I wrote Requiem For My Mother as a remembrance for my mother, Rosalie Edwards, whose passion for music transformed my life and was my constant inspiration. I began the Requiem as a way of dealing with my deep sense of loss at my mother's death in 2006." Requiem earned high praise from acclaimed composer John Williams, who calls the work "heart-felt and honest," and "a touching tribute to a Mother from a loving son."

The documentary follows the thrilling creation of the piece and the massive preparations leading up to its international premiere at the Musica Sacra Festival in Vatican City. A moving personal story as well as a rousing performance film, Requiem For My Mother received an excellent early review from St. Anthony's Messenger's Channel Surfing with Christopher Heffron, declaring "Requiem celebrates family, memories and our universal search for healing – all of it set to heavenly music. Surely, Rosalie is smiling."

Stephen Edwards is best known in Hollywood as one of today's most in-demand film and television composers, whose original compositions are featured in top-grossing films including the multiple Oscar-winning Dallas Buyers Club and over 50 other films. His greatest passions, however, are his choral and orchestral works. These include, in addition to Requiem For My Mother, Missa Brevis for a capella women's choir, under the direction of Candace Wicke which celebrated its' premiere in 2012 at the Musica Sacra Festival in Vatican City, Ave Maria Mass, commissioned by Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan (2004), and Christmas Time In The City (2009), both premiered at Carnegie Hall.

The soundtrack of Requiem For My Mother is Edwards' third commercially released recording. Earlier recordings include his solo piano album, Piano Music from the Movies which pays homage to the film music that moved Edwards through his childhood, and Ave Maria Mass & Suite For the Americas, a 9/11 tribute album that has been hailed as a "magnificent work" and "a moving tribute to the victims of 9/11."

Requiem For My Mother (tracklist)
01 - Requiem Aeternam
02 - Kyrie
03 - Gradual & Tract
04 - Dies Irae
05 - Offertory
06 - Sanctus
07 – Pie Jesu
08 - Agnus Dei
09 - Communion
10 - Libera Mei
11 - In Paradisum

Photos: Copyright Stephen Edwards

(Source : press release Costa Communications)