De Rerum Natura is an epic poem written by the Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus (ca. 99-55 BCE). We know little about Lucretius’s life beyond the fact that he was an adherent of Epicurus, a Greek philosopher who had lived two centuries before him. The poem, written for and dedicated to Lucretius’s friend Gaius Memmius, sets forth and expounds upon many of the ideas of Epicureanism – that the universe is governed by the motion of atoms, that we must conquer fear (particularly that of death), and that humanity must achieve its own salvation rather than petitioning it from the gods.

Of the six books, I have selected text from each of the first four to be set for concert choir. In 2009, the first, second, and third movements of De Rerum Natura received the National Federation of Music Clubs Award for Choral Composition.

The first three movements were recorded on Monday, November 16, 2009, and feature the following performers:

• Kristin DeGroot, Jasmine Haghighatian, Megan Radowick, Bronwyn White, soprano
• Heather Blount, Roxanna Tehrani, alto
• Lorenzo Garcia, Emmanuel Medina, Rafael Moras, Darius Thomas, tenor
• Anthony Garant, Christopher Garcia, Jeffery Hunter, Adrian Kirtley, bass

Special thanks to Andrea Cerda and Amanda Cullom, who helped prepare the piece but could not join us on the concert.

This recording of the fourth movement is from Monday, April 27, 2009, and features the following performers:

• Jasmine Haghighatian, Michelle Lange, Bronwyn White, Chrissy Whitford, soprano
• Heather Blount, Andrea Cerda, Roxanna Tehrani, alto
• Lorenzo Garcia, Rafael Moras, Ryan Ramirez, tenor
• Carlos Saenz, Jeff Sambula, bass