Tombeau for Michael Collins
Tombeau for Michael Collins is written in the unmeasured style of the
seventeenth century tombeaux. The music is based on three themes, a 13th
century plainsong (Dies Irae), the ostinato from Purcell's Dido's Lament, and
Reynolds, new tune composed to represent strength of character and love of
God.
Michael Collins was a Methodist minister whose writing and teaching has
been of great comfort to victims of AIDS. He died of the disease in
1984.
The Schubert Club (St. Paul, Minnesota), commissioned this piece in 1987.