(Delivered)
Ferris, one of the nation's leading
choral composers and a devout Ca-
tholic, was leading his William Fer-
ris Chorale in a rehearsal of Giu-
seppe Verdi's towering Requiem,
arguably the most Catholic of all
choral masterpieces, Tuesday eve-
ning at St. Thomas the Apostle
Church, in Hyde Park, when he col-
lapsed on the podium, the victim of
a massive heart attack.
The chorus had been singing
the final section,"Libera me"
(whose Latin text includes the lines
"Deliver me, O Lord, from everlast-
ing death" and"Eternal rest grant
them, O Lord, and let perpetual
light shine upon them"), when the
director faltered, fell backward and
was helped to the floor.
Ferris received CPR on the scene
from one of his choristers who is al-
so a physician, as the 100-member
chorus stood in stunned silence.
Several were in tears, and many
were observed praying. He was
rushed to the University of Chicago
Hospitals but never recovered.
© 2003 Daniel X. O'Neil
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