Inspiration

The Rolling Requiem, the sole worldwide tribute on the first anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, honored those who died and those who were left behind. The tributes of almost 200 choirs in 28 countries touched people who performed the music, people who attended the concerts and many others. Some of them have shared their thoughts, prayers, and reasons for participating here.

• "I have just participated in a stupendous performance of Mozart's great Requiem in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, & I believe one of the first performances in the world in the Rolling Requiem cycle. It was an experience I shall not forget, just as we will always remember the tragic events of 9/11. Blessings from New Zealand and me." [Bridget]
• "There I was, among the mere listeners, distant and faceless among the stadium. At my age it's exceptional to hear so well. I didn't miss a thing and there was so much to not miss.

  Unlike the other one [the 9/11/01 attacks], this event was so worth the planning and the effort to muster everyone for the joy of everyone else. Listening to the choristers and orchestra, watching the fateful time approach, knowing some died mercifully faster than their names could be posted and read, feelings began to sort out slowly, predictably, gracefully. The flag-waving 2 year old in the row behind me tripped and crushed a handful of saltines down my neck - hardly noticed it.

  I did notice that the English translations took more space than the Latin original. Added to the sense of efficiency in the way the score controlled our sentiments that until then had bruised and pulled at us all year. For that I say to you and your Safeco musician friends, thanks for sharing generously from your life and talents. I know the effort needed for this. As you know, it was a very good idea, recognized as such and carried out with obvious finesse. Good ideas have a life of their own. Find the missing lady and ask her for another. Keep doing the right thing. [tf]

• "Our concert was lovely this morning. Just as we started singing 'et lux perpetua' the sun shone through the window in an otherwise cloudy day here in St. John's. I thought, it's right, what we are doing is right - 'and let perpetual light shine upon them'. I am honoured to be a part of this effort to reflect and remember those lives lost on 9/11. I also remember those who spent several days here in Newfoundland on grounded planes on route to the USA. [Heather]
• "We just had our final rehearsal, and I gave each musician (singers and orchestra) a badge with a different victim's name on each, to wear during tomorrow morning's concert. It was quite an experience to watch people run their finger over the name, and the looks on their faces told an incredible story of humility and sorrow, and an instant bonding of souls. NUMEROUS people came to me and asked if there was some way that they could find out anything about the person they are representing. Each of us is now the voice of someone who was silenced, and they really feel a need to know about those people.... Thanks - this was an awesome concept - and I believe it helped a lot of people move forward." [Maura]
• "It is very fitting that the Rolling Requiem's penultimate performance on 9-11 be in Hawaii. Although in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Honolulu is a microcosm of the world - with people of many different racial extractions, ethnic backgrounds and religions. Everyone in Hawaii is part of a minority group. This diversity is reflected in the choir which consists of people from Caucasian, Asian, African-American, Hawaiian and other Polynesian backgrounds." [Betsy] [Note: The final performances of the Rolling Requiem occurred in American Samoa.]
• "I was born and raised in Long Island, NY and worked in Two World Trade Center for three years. My father is a retired NYC Fire Captain, and lost many friends and colleagues in the collapse. Being involved in this project has helped to diffuse the feeling of helplessness I have felt since watching the second plane hit the World Trade Center. Although life will not be the same for many, many people, my hope is that this event will bring peace and healing to all who were affected by this tragedy." [Kathi]
• "We meet to feel the peace and to hope for peace as we sing a requiem to pray for those who died... We sing to pray that they rest in peace. We sing to pray that we can feel peace. We sing to pray that the world will notice and that we may know peace." [Mark]
• "... I remember how I felt that day as I watched in horror at what was happening, and remembering the tears down my face. I felt so helpless at that time, but now I feel like I am helping the healing around the world, and in my own heart. We feel so honored to wear the name of a special person who perished." [Marilyn]
• "I think this beautiful music is an inspiration to all of us as we come upon the anniversary of this great tragedy." [Shelia]
• "This tragedy touched us all and the families and everyone around the world need to know that even if we live far away we care deeply for everyone involved and our prayers still continue for them." [Pam]
• "There is nothing as effective as music to evoke our deeply held emotions. In this time of remembrance for the innocent lives that were lost as well as the lives of the heroes who tried desperately to save them, Mozart's Requiem is especially poignant in helping us commemorate these tragic and irrevocable losses." [Ed]
• "Personally, I was grieving another loss on that date. In March of 2001, six months [before 9-11], my 18-year-old son died. He chose to take his own life. The outpouring of love given to us by family, friends and even strangers was such a blessing at that time. One thought I had with the death of thousands of people, in such public and horrendous ways - and not all instant - was how would it be possible to individually remember each person. There is a sense of mass loss, and yet each individual has a life, a family, a story. To wear a badge for one individual - and to learn something about that person makes the day a more personal day of remembrance." [Jan]
• "...In the 'heartland' sentiment is strong about the events of 9/11 perhaps because we experienced sudden, senseless violence firsthand when the Murrah building was destroyed. We felt disbelief and horror on a far smaller scale than what happened on 9/11, but even one life lost to terrorism is one too many. My husband and I made a pilgrimage to New York as soon as we could. Ground Zero was still smoldering. The most sickening smoke filled the air. Papers clung to the tops of twisted street signs and office windows blocks and blocks away. It was indeed a war zone. The outpouring of grief on the walls of a makeshift fence at St.Paul's church was a blizzard of photos of smiling young brides, athletes, eager immigrants, sturdy firemen -- and the messages left for them overwhelmed one's ability to take in the depth of so much loss. It was- and I believe will always be -- a sacred space. I felt the strongest sense of being surrounded by the spirits of those who perished, hovering in that glowering cavern -- reluctant to leave and confused about why this had happened to them. We will never be the same. None of us." [Marylove]

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