https://www.facebook.com/events/223807804371438/?context=create

Invite away on Facebook or just plan on being there!

http://www4.uwm.edu/psoa/edburgess/

Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Best, Luc.

Dear Luc,

Hope all's well. I've kept Morten Laurdsen's piece on my desktop since May, intending to share it with you, Janet, Marcia, Dani, Simone, et al, in the Dance Dept. At the time, Ed's sudden death and UWM remembrance event was surreal. The MSO concert that weekend featured Laurdsen's Lux Aeterna. Perhaps, some of you were there. The voices and music transported me into another state of being, and I found myself crying, crying with a mix of grief and joy for loved ones, a real tribute. For some, the contemporary yet Old Soul/Old World aesthetic of Lux Aeterna may seem unlike Ed, but for me, it was a direct hit. Hope it speaks to you all, too. Sending regards and peace,

The Carrs

P.S. For the archives? My son Adam loved working with Ed to produce the WinterDances/Water Studies clip for Radio 88Nine Make MKE: http://www.radiomilwaukee.org/initiatives/make-milwaukee/make-milwaukee-winterdances-and-water-studies

P.P.S. Ed's Legacy Scholarship Fund/UWM Foundation is a brilliant "perpetual light" - thanks

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Lux Aeterna, for Chorus and Chamber Orchestra

MORTEN LAURIDSEN (b. February 27, 1943; Colfax, Washington)

This conjoined five-movement work is dedicated to and first performed by the Los Angeles Master Chorale and its leader, Paul Salamunovich. About 25 minutes in duration, it is scored for SATB chorus and an ensemble of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, two horns, bass trombone, and strings.

Prominent among America’s choral composers, Morten Lauridsen hails from the Pacific Northwest. Primarily active in the realm of sacred music, he has been called a “mystic” because of the serene otherworldly quality of so much of his expression. He is presently Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. In 2007, he received the National Medal of Arts from George W. Bush “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth that have thrilled audiences worldwide.”

Of his musical transcendence of grief through meditation on Light, Lauridsen writes: “Each of the five connected movements in this choral cycle contains references to ‘Light’ assembled from various sacred Latin texts. I composed Lux Aeterna in response to my mother’s final illness and found great personal comfort and solace in setting these timeless and wondrous words about Light, a universal symbol of illumination at all levels — spiritual, artistic, and intellectual.

“... For the Lux Aeterna I chose as my point of departure the sacred music of the late Renaissance, especially that of Josquin des Prez [1440-1521], to create a quiet, direct, and introspective meditation on Light, using primarily the consonant harmonies, intricate counterpoint, formal procedures, and chant- like melodic lines of that era.

“The work opens and closes with the beginning and ending of the Requiem Mass, with the central three movements drawn respectively from the Te Deum, O Nata Lux, and Veni, Sancte Spiritus. The opening Introitus introduces several themes that recur later in the work and includes an extended canon on ‘et lux perpetua.’ In Te, Domine, Speravi contains, among other musical elements, the cantus firmus ‘Herzliebster Jesu’ (from the Nuremberg Songbook, 1677) and a lengthy inverted canon on ‘fiat misericordia.’ O Nata Lux and Veni, Sancte Spiritus are paired songs, the former an a cappella motet at the center of the work and the latter a spirited, jubilant canticle. A quiet setting of the Agnus Dei precedes the final Lux Aeterna, which reprises the opening section of the Introitus and concludes with a joyful and celebratory Alleluia.”

I. Introitus

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Te decet hymnus Deus in Zion,

et tibi redetur votum

in Jerusalem: exaudi orationem meam,

ad te omnis caro veniet.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,

et lux perpetua luceat eis.

II. In Te, Domine, Speravi

Tu ad liberandum suscepturas hominem

non horruisti Virginis uterum.

Tu devicto mortis aculeo,

aperuisti credentibus regna coelorum.

Exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis.

Miserere nostri, Domine,

miserere nostri.

Fiat misericordia tua, Domine,

super nos quemadmodum speravimus in te.

In te Domine, speravi:

non confundar in aeternum.

III. O Nata Lux

O nata lux de lumine,

Jesu redemptor saeculi,

dignare clemens supplicum

laudes preces que sumere.

Qui carne quondam contegi

dignatus es pro perditis.

Nos membra confer effici,

tui beati corporis.

IV. Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Veni, Sancte Spiritus,

Et emitte coelitus

Lucis tuae radium.

Veni, pater pauperum, V

eni, dator munerum,

Veni, lumen cordium.

Consolatory optime,

Dulcis hospes animae,

Dulce refrigerium.

In labore requies,

In aestu temperies,

In fletu solatium.

O lux beatissima,

Reple cordis intima

Tuorum fidelium.

Sine tuo numine,

Nihil est in homine,

Nihil est innoxium.

Lava quod est sordidum,

Riga quod est aridum,

Sana quod est saucium.

Flecte quod est rigidum,

Fove quod est frigidum,

Rege quod est devium.

Da tuis fidelibus,

In te confidentibus,

Sacrum septenarium.

Da virtutis meritum,

Da salutis exitum,

Da perenne gaudium.

V. Agnus Dei—Lux Aeterna

Agnus Dei,

qui tollis peccata mundi,

dona eis requiem.

Agnus Dei,

qui tollis peccata mundi,

dona eis requiem.

Agnus Dei,

qui tollis peccata mundi,

dona eis requiem sempiternam.

Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine:

Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum:

Quia pius es.

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,

Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Alleluia. Amen

I. Introitus

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn befits thee, O God in Zion and to thee a vow shall be fulfilled in Jerusalem: Hear my prayer, for unto thee all flesh shall come. Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.

II. In Te, Domine, Speravi

To deliver us, you became human, and did not disdain the Virgin’s womb. Having blunted the sting of death, You opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.

A light has risen in the darkness for the upright. have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Let thy mercy be upon us, O Lord, as we have trusted in thee. In thee, O Lord, I have trusted: let me never be confounded.

III. O Nata Lux

O born light of light, Jesus, redeemer of the world, mercifully deem worthy and accept the praises and prayers of your supplicants. Thou who once deigned to be clothed in flesh for the sake of the lost ones, grant us to be made members of your holy body.

IV. Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, Send forth from heaven The ray of thy light. Come, Father of the poor. Come, giver of gifts, Come, light of hearts. Thou best of Consolers, Sweet guest of the soul, Sweet refreshment. In labor, thou art rest, In heat, the tempering, In grief, the consolation. O Light most blessed, Fill the inmost heart Of all thy faithful. Without your grace, There is nothing in us, Nothing that is not harmful. Cleanse what is sordid, Moisten what is arid, Heal what is hurt. Flex what is rigid, Fire what is frigid, Correct what goes astray. Grant to thy faithful, Those trusting in thee, Thy sacred seven-fold gifts Grant the reward of virtue, Grant the deliverance of salvation, Grant everlasting joy.

V. Agnus Dei – Lux Aeterna

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, grant them rest.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. grant them rest everlasting.

May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord; in the company of thy Saints forever and ever for thou art merciful.

Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Alleluia. Amen

Ed Saying Hello?

Wild Space Dance Company opened its 25th anniversary season Thursday with "In the Space Between," and I was lucky to join the cast. Before we went on, dancer Hannah Marquardt told us she had stumbled that day on a photo she didn't know she had. The picture? None other than the appropriately captioned, "New Age My Ass," taken by Wild Space collaborating artist Tom Bamberger (left).

That, of course, is Ed, sprawled across the table of some unsuspecting mall patrons. If any photo could capture Buddy Burgess, this is it: He's clearly reveling in the confusion and delight he's causing.

He made us smile, too. We all agreed this was Ed saying hello. Congratulations. Enjoy yourselves tonight.

And I was dense enough to worry almost continuously about the performance, my preparedness, the audience's judgments, my body's aches and pains... Much of the evening, I forgot to enjoy myself.

Ed always pushed us hard and taught us to strive for excellence. But I think Ed was telling us that true excellence is reached in that moment when you let go of yourself to, ironically, find yourself--fully enjoying the present.

How else can you be, except enjoying yourself, when you decide to show up in a moment in which you happen to be dancing? Ed's spirit's as alive as ever, and even though he no longer has his body, we've still got ours. Every time we move, we need to make it count. Thanks for the reminder, Ed.

Ed's Journal Sentinel Obituary

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/jsonline/obituary.aspx?n=ed-burgess&pid=151344558

From Seth Warren-Crow

I found some old video that I (inadvertently) made while David Wake and I were rehearsing Ed’s dance piece Sin City this past winter. I had forgotten to turn the camera off after one rehearsal and fortunately, this resulted in a few brief but poetic gems that I feel do a wonderful job of evoking Ed’s unique personality. I think these brief clips really encapsulate an aspect of Ed that I especially admire: his desire and ability to embrace chaos. It is also the aspect of him I encountered the most frequently as his sound designer. If I came to Ed with a soundscape I was worried he would think was far too unruly and cluttered he would just say something along the lines of ‘well sure, we just need a lot more of that’. He didn’t want a galloping horse. He wanted a dust-cloud-inducing stampede. And when the sound system was rattling nails from the walls in tech rehearsal, Ed would politely ask if we could turn it up a little. I saw this quality in him both as artist and as a department chair. In the chaos of the usual bureaucracy mixed with massive budget cuts his overall reaction always seemed to be to chuckle at the amusements around him and carry on, to weather the changes and keep looking ahead. I think these quotes below say a lot about Ed’s spirit of resilience, (yes, his charming neuroses), and his ability, when confronted by turmoil, to resist the temptation to recoil from it and instead kindly ask it to dance.

I wrote out the quotes below in case someone doesn’t want to watch the actual video. If you are feeling up to it, however, I recommend it. For me, as difficult as it is to watch, I hear his peculiar cadences and I see his unmistakable mannerisms (and that P-Town shirt, my god, did he wear that thing every day!) and I can’t help but chuckle. I also can’t help reminding myself to keep looking ahead. And for Ed, I will do my best to keep embracing everything that is thrown at me and to throw everything I’ve got back.


One thing that’s fun for me is that everything starts with a big emotional exclamation point.

Anything we can do that is epically histrionic is good.

The more we do it, the more of a nightmare the whole thing is and there is no subtlety at all.

It felt really annoying and great...you know what I mean...screeching and like….like a knife going in the head... and that's all good…because that scene can take a lot…basically whatever you can throw at it...

-Ed Burgess

http://vimeo.com/23783549

Seth Warren-Crow
5/29/11

From Richard Move

Dearest Everyone...

I am deeply saddened and very, very sorry for all who knew, adored and loved Ed. He was an exceptional and great person. An inspiring, devoted teacher and mentor. A brilliant artist, creative force and true friend. As some of you know, in addition to the 2 wonderful weeks I spent with him and all of you in the Fall, Ed was one of my very first teachers and had an enormous influence on me. His amazing, beautiful dancing, exceptional gifts as a teacher, passion and commitment, have had a lasting impression that will forever remain with me. And I know each and everyone of you feel the same. My heartfelt support, condolences and thoughts are with you all in this difficult time. With love and admiration, Ed will be missed and always in our hearts...

My very best to you all- Richard

His Door...