Title
Sic Transit
Year
1970
Instrumentation
equal or mixed voices, organ, electronic sounds, & light sources
Notes
Commissioned by the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York City. Using texts by John F. Kennedy's inaugural speech and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s address from the March on Washington. In an age of transition, Christ may not be found where we were previously accustomed to seek him. Hence "You seek... he is not here..." the use of sound I spatial transit; and finally "...the torch has been passed." Also, thus passes (sic transit) from among us men who seemed somehow to give the most eloquent testimony to things beyond themselves, who gave us light in the darkness, a sense of direction in our search.
Reviews
"...a glorious Easter resurrection work which also encompases a more universal meaning... unison singing in declamatory style, three-part chordal proclamations, and murmuring crowd effects reinforced by crowd sounds of the electronics ...In a most unusual passage, the composer sets up the effect of a chain reaction starting in the midst of a crowd. One singer excitedly turns to his neighbor and says, He is risen; He is not here." This is picked up by the next person, who in turn passes it on to another. A snowball effect is created which builds until the entire [structure] is engulfed in waves of sound."
NOTES, Journal of the American Music Library Assn.

" ...there were times when the sound seemed to come from outside the Cathedral, from an unknown source outside our solar system... "

" ...Richard Felciano has crafted a marvelous and exciting piece of music in Sic Transit. We find this music fresh, excellently crafted, full of ideas, and interesting. This piece has grown in our interest each time we have heard it, and it continues to spark our imagination and excite us musically."
THE DIAPASON