By

Published: Tuesday, 14 May 2024 at 14:20 PM


‘I think it has to be Brahms,’ replies composer Michael John Trotta, when asked by BBC Music to name his favourite Requiem. ‘It’s partly to do with how he brought the language into the vernacular and included additional texts. And then there’s that ticking at the beginning – “bom, bom, bom” – along with the vulnerability of the viola. I also remember singing the “How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place” movement as a schoolboy and feeling enveloped by the music’s warm hug!’