War Requiem
Composition by Benjamin Britten / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The War Requiem, Op. 66, is a British choral and orchestral composition by Benjamin Britten, composed mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962.[1] The War Requiem was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid. The traditional Latin texts are interspersed, in telling juxtaposition, with extra-liturgical poems by Wilfred Owen, written during World War I.
War Requiem | |
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by Benjamin Britten | |
Opus | 66 |
Occasion | Consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral |
Text |
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Language |
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Composed | 1961 (1961)–1962 |
Dedication |
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Performed | 30 May 1962 (1962-05-30) |
Scoring |
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Britten scored the work for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, chorus, boys' choir, organ, and two orchestras (a full orchestra and a chamber orchestra). The chamber orchestra accompanies the intimate settings of the English poetry, while soprano, choirs and orchestra are used for the Latin sections; all forces are combined in the conclusion. The Requiem has a duration of approximately 80–85 minutes. In 2019, War Requiem was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]