Requiem (Cherubini)
Encyclopedia
The Requiem
in C minor for mixed chorus was written by Luigi Cherubini
in 1815 and premiered 21 January 1816 at a commemoration service for Louis XVI of France
. Cherubini's setting of the requiem was considered by Beethoven
to be superior to Mozart's
.
Beethoven listened to Cherubini's operas with the keenest attention (the evidence is there in Fidelio) and declared that if ever he should write a Requiem his model would be Cherubini's C minor setting. Hearing this music, with its extraordinary emotional depth and power, it is easy to understand Beethoven's esteem.
consists of seven movements:
In 1820 a funeral march
and a motet In Paradisum
were added. In 1834 the work was prohibited by the archbishop of Paris because of its use of women's voices, and in 1836 Cherubini wrote a second Requiem in D minor for men's chorus
.
, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
and Robert Shaw Chorale
. Also included in the compilation is the Te Deum
from Verdi
's Quattro Pezzi Sacri
.
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
in C minor for mixed chorus was written by Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini
Luigi Cherubini was an Italian composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethoven regarded Cherubini as the greatest of his contemporaries....
in 1815 and premiered 21 January 1816 at a commemoration service for Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
. Cherubini's setting of the requiem was considered by Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
to be superior to Mozart's
Requiem (Mozart)
The Requiem Mass in D minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in Vienna in 1791 and left unfinished at the composer's death. A completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who had anonymously commissioned the piece for a requiem Mass to commemorate the...
.
Beethoven listened to Cherubini's operas with the keenest attention (the evidence is there in Fidelio) and declared that if ever he should write a Requiem his model would be Cherubini's C minor setting. Hearing this music, with its extraordinary emotional depth and power, it is easy to understand Beethoven's esteem.
Movements
This particular setting of the requiem massRequiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
consists of seven movements:
- IntroitIntroitThe Introit is part of the opening of the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In its most complete version, it consists of an antiphon, psalm verse and Gloria Patri that is spoken or sung at the beginning of the celebration...
us et KyrieKyrieKyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison .... - GradualGradualThe Gradual is a chant or hymn in the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations. In the Tridentine Mass it was and is sung after the reading or chanting of the Epistle and before the Alleluia, or, during penitential seasons, before the Tract. In the Mass of Paul VI...
e - Dies IraeDies IraeDies Irae is a thirteenth century Latin hymn thought to be written by Thomas of Celano . It is a medieval Latin poem characterized by its accentual stress and its rhymed lines. The metre is trochaic...
- OffertoriumOffertoryThe Offertory is the portion of a Eucharistic service when bread and wine are brought to the altar. The offertory exists in many liturgical Christian denominations, though the Eucharistic theology varies among celebrations conducted by these denominations....
- SanctusSanctusThe Sanctus is a hymn from Christian liturgy, forming part of the Order of Mass. In Western Christianity, the Sanctus is sung as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer, the prayer of consecration of the bread and wine...
- Pie JesuPie JesuPie Jesu is a motet derived from the final couplet of the Dies irae and often included in musical settings of the Requiem Mass. The settings of the Requiem Mass by Luigi Cherubini, Gabriel Fauré, Maurice Duruflé, John Rutter, Karl Jenkins and Fredrik Sixten include a Pie Jesu as an independent...
- Agnus Dei
In 1820 a funeral march
Funeral march
A funeral march is a march, usually in a minor key, in a slow "simple duple" metre, imitating the solemn pace of a funeral procession. Some such marches are often considered appropriate for use during funerals and other sombre occasions, the most well-known being that of Chopin...
and a motet In Paradisum
In paradisum
In paradisum is an antiphon from the traditional Latin liturgy of the Western Church Requiem Mass. It is sung by the choir as the body is being taken out of the church...
were added. In 1834 the work was prohibited by the archbishop of Paris because of its use of women's voices, and in 1836 Cherubini wrote a second Requiem in D minor for men's chorus
Men's chorus
A men's chorus or male voice choir , is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose voices are arranged into high and low tenors , and high and low basses —and shortened to the letters TTBB...
.
Discography and references
A notable recording of this requiem has been made under the baton of Arturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, with the NBC Symphony Orchestra
NBC Symphony Orchestra
The NBC Symphony Orchestra was a radio orchestra established by David Sarnoff of the National Broadcasting Company especially for conductor Arturo Toscanini...
and Robert Shaw Chorale
Robert Shaw Chorale
The Robert Shaw Chorale was a professional chorus founded in New York City in 1948 by Robert Shaw, a Californian who had been drafted out of college a decade earlier by Fred Waring to conduct his Glee Club in radio broadcasts...
. Also included in the compilation is the Te Deum
Te Deum
The Te Deum is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered literally as "Thee, O God, we praise"....
from Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Quattro Pezzi Sacri
Quattro Pezzi Sacri
The Quattro Pezzi Sacri, or Four Sacred Pieces, are choral works by Giuseppe Verdi. Written separately and with different origins and purposes, they were nevertheless published together, in 1898, and are often performed as a cycle in this sequence:...
.