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Its title taken from the opening phrase \u2018Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine\u2019 (\u2018Give them eternal rest, Lord\u2019), a Requiem<\/a> is, traditionally, a mass for the dead. Its Latin texts (plus the Kyrie, which is Ancient Greek) have been set by many composers over the centuries, often inspiring them to heights of extraordinary genius. Quite which words you get in a Requiem, however, depends on the composer \u2013 though most set the core of the Latin mass, some choose to add other texts, leave parts out or, in Brahms\u2019s case, set different words entirely.<\/strong><\/p>\n There are so many exceptional settings of the Requiem that picking out six is a near-impossible task. Here, though, are half-a-dozen to begin with. Watch this space for more to follow in the future\u2026<\/p>\n Few works have attracted quite the same level of intrigue and controversy as Mozart\u2019s 1791 Requiem,<\/a><\/strong> not least the popular narrative that it was commissioned in the dead of night by a mystery stranger. Though the real story is a little more prosaic \u2013 it was commissioned by Count Franz von Walsegg, who probably wanted to pass it off as his own work \u2013 the piece itself is one of peerless beauty, power and pathos. Not all of it, however, is by Mozart<\/a><\/strong>, as he died midway through its composition, leaving some movements complete, some in sketch form and some untouched, with the job then being finished by Franz Xaver S\u00fcssmayr. At the emotional heart of this exceptional work is its most poignant movement, the Lacrimosa, of which Mozart wrote eight bars before breathing his last.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Written in memory of the novelist Alessandro Manzoni, whose death in 1873 affected him greatly, Verdi\u2019s Requiem<\/a><\/strong> is arguably the most dramatic of them all \u2013 the influential pianist and conductor Hans von Bulow went as far as to describe it as \u2018Verdi\u2019s latest opera, though in ecclesiastical robes\u2019. Scored for soloists, choir and a large orchestra, it is performed more often on the concert stage than in a church today, and is a work of blood and thunder, doom and gloom \u2013 Verdi<\/a> <\/strong>had little time for visions of heavenly repose. The most famous moment, complete with pounding bass drum, is the hair-raising Dies Irae, though thanks to Take That, millions of pop listeners have also become familiar with the trumpet fanfares at the opening of the following Tuba Mirum.<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> \u00a0<\/p>\n In marked contrast to Verdi\u2019s Requiem is Faur\u00e9\u2019s benign work of 1888, initially written for soloists, six-part choir and chamber-sized orchestra with organ but later adapted by the composer for larger orchestral forces. As befits a Requiem that Faur\u00e9<\/a> <\/strong>apparently wrote for his own pleasure rather than to mark any particular occasion, the work\u2019s seven movements largely have an air of serenity and acceptance of death \u2013 even the ominous D minor opening to the Introit soon dissolves into a softer major key and, significantly, there is no Dies Irae either. Faur\u00e9\u2019s Requiem<\/a><\/strong> is rounded off by the sublime In Paradisum in which, accompanied by strings and a rippling organ, the voices lift us into a world of perpetual peace.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a Requiem with a difference. As the name implies, Brahms\u2019s A German Requiem<\/em><\/a><\/strong> does not set the traditional Latin mass, but instead uses texts from the German Luther Bible. With the exception of the distinctive, disturbing funeral march of the second movement \u2018Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras\u2019 (For all flesh, it is as grass), the mood here is again one that looks more towards the bliss of the afterlife than the misery of getting there \u2013 particularly so in the fourth movement \u2018Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen\u2019 (How lovely are thy dwellings). Written for soprano and baritone soloists, choir and orchestra, Brahms<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Requiem was a hit at its 1869 premiere in Leipzig and has rightfully remained a favourite ever since.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Well, the idea was good,\u2019 was the downcast Britten<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s own damning verdict on his War Requiem<\/em> <\/a><\/strong>after its premiere at the new Coventry Cathedral in May 1962. Posterity has treated it much more kindly than that, recognising Britten\u2019s genius for what it is. The War Requiem<\/em> is a huge affair, lasting around 90 minutes and scored for three soloists, chorus, boys\u2019 choir, organ and double orchestra \u2013 though Britten\u2019s original ambition for those three soloists at the premiere to consist of one British, German and Russian singer each were scuppered by the Soviets, who would not allow Galina Vishnevskaya to travel. Part of Britten\u2019s brilliance in the War Requiem<\/em> lies in his decision to intersperse the Latin mass with texts by the World War I<\/a> <\/strong>poet Wilfred Owen, and for all the work\u2019s awe-inspiring scale, it is the pathos of these more intimate passages that make the work uniquely moving.<\/p>\nThe best requiems of all time<\/h2>\n
Mozart\u2019s Requiem in D minor<\/h3>\n
Verdi\u2019s Requiem<\/h3>\n
Faur\u00e9\u2019s Requiem in D minor<\/h2>\n
Brahms\u2019s A German Requiem<\/h2>\n
Britten\u2019s War Requiem<\/h2>\n