“…a piece of tranquil and urgent beauty…an exquisite first recording.”
– Gramophone – September 2024

“…a dynamic yet intimate setting…harmonically alluring”
– The Classic Review

“Beck’s Requiem follows in the footsteps of countless great composers who’ve imposed their stamp on the form, and his—commendably compact at fifty-seven minutes—makes for a fine addition to that tradition. … Requiem positions itself comfortably alongside its predecessors whilst also presenting a personal take. He’s certainly well-served by Coro Volante, Scott, and the Cincinnati String Ensemble, who render this majestic work with consummate sensitivity, precision, and poise.” – textura

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The Acis release of my Requiem for mixed chorus and string orchestra is the artistic culmination of a multi-year project, one that was interrupted but also fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. For it was the isolation and space created by the pandemic that allowed me to drive my earlier work on the Requiem to its conclusion with this recording.

One sometimes reaches a point as a composer when the music one imagines suggests a larger form, something of greater artistic consequence. Taking my cue more from earlier composers, as my piece unfolded, I was also conscious of the sacred choral music of Arvo Pärt and Alfred Schnittke’s Concerto for Choir, a twentieth-century choral masterpiece. These two composers somehow found modern musical languages that were purposefully subdued, yet ever powerful and moving in their seeming restraint. In light of all of this history, I found the path to my own Requiem. It is without dedication, but is of its time.

The sixteen-voice choir Coro Volante, conducted by Brett Scott, recorded my Requiem in September, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio, at The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, in four days of sessions produced by Douglas Knehans and engineered by David Yost.