Best Requiem

Requiem in D minor, K. 626, is a setting of the Latin Mass for the Dead by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Commissioned in 1791, it remained incomplete when Mozart died, and passages based on his sketches were completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr for an early performance. The work uses solo singers, mixed cho...

Brahms's A German Requiem, Op. 45, completed in 1868, sets German biblical texts selected by Brahms himself rather than the traditional Latin Requiem Mass. It is scored for soprano and baritone soloists, four-part chorus, and orchestra. The work consists of seven movements and was the longest compos...

A German Requiem, Op. 45, is a large-scale choral-orchestral work by Johannes Brahms, completed in 1868. Unlike the traditional Latin Requiem mass, Brahms set texts selected from the German Luther Bible, focusing on themes of comfort for the living rather than judgment of the dead. The work consists...

Giuseppe Verdi composed the Messa da Requiem for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, completing it in 1874 in memory of the Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni. The work uses the Latin Roman Catholic Requiem text and was first performed in Milan on 22 May 1874. Its writing includes large choral sectio...

A German Requiem, Op. 45, is a seven-movement choral work by Johannes Brahms, completed in 1868. Unlike a Latin Requiem Mass, it sets selected passages from the German-language Luther Bible and focuses on consolation for the living as well as mortality. The score calls for chorus, soprano and barito...

Written for the funeral observances of Empress Maria of Austria in 1603 and published in 1605, Victoria's Officium Defunctorum brings Spanish Renaissance vocal writing to the Latin liturgy for the dead. Its central Requiem Mass uses six vocal parts, with related funeral music included in the publica...

Dark vertical markings on young tiger sharks give this large predatory species its common name. The stripes often become less distinct as the animal matures. Found in tropical and warm temperate waters around the world, the tiger shark is generally solitary and frequently active at night. Its broad...

Requiem Op. 48 by Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) is a French choral requiem begun in 1887, notable for its serene, consolatory character and its omission of the Dies irae, contrasting with the dramatic tradition of the genre.

Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, Op. 66, is a large-scale work for soloists, chamber ensemble, full orchestra, chorus, boys' choir, and organ. First performed in 1962 for the consecration of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral, it interweaves the Latin Requiem Mass with poems by Wilfred Owen, an English s...

Tomás Luis de Victoria's Officium Defunctorum is a collection of music for the Catholic Office and Mass for the Dead, published in Madrid in 1605. It was associated with the funeral rites of the Dowager Empress Maria, whose chaplain Victoria had served, and it became his final published work. Most o...

A stocky body and broad, blunt snout distinguish the bull shark from many more slender requiem sharks. Belonging to the family Carcharhinidae, it occurs in warm coastal waters and can also enter estuaries and rivers. Its ability to tolerate both seawater and freshwater is called euryhalinity, a phys...

Schütz's Musikalische Exequien, catalogued as SWV 279-281, consists of three linked pieces of German funeral music from the early Baroque period. Written for the funeral of Heinrich Posthumus Reuss, it sets biblical and hymn texts rather than following the Latin Catholic Requiem Mass. The sequence m...

Britten’s War Requiem, Op. 66 is a significant choral work from 1962. It uniquely integrates the traditional Latin Requiem Mass with selections from Wilfred Owen's anti-war poetry. The piece explores themes of loss and humanity during wartime through a large orchestra and chorus, featuring prominent...

The Requiem in D minor, Op. 48, is a choral and orchestral work by French composer Gabriel Fauré, composed between 1887 and 1890. Unlike traditional settings of the Catholic mass for the dead, Fauré's composition omits the "Dies Irae" sequence and focuses instead on themes of eternal rest and tranqu...

Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, Op. 9 (1947), is a French choral masterwork deeply rooted in Gregorian chant and modeled in sensibility on Fauré's Requiem, existing in versions for full orchestra and organ.

Musikalische Exequien is a German-language funeral composition by Heinrich Schutz, published in 1636 and written for the obsequies of Heinrich Posthumus Reuss. Its three parts combine biblical and chorale texts selected for the prince's coffin with writing for voices, continuo, and small vocal ensem...

Gyorgy Ligeti's Requiem is a large-scale work for soprano and mezzo-soprano soloists, two mixed choruses, and orchestra, composed between 1963 and 1965. Rather than following the entire Latin Requiem Mass, it sets selected sections and uses dense clusters, shifting internal lines, and micropolyphoni...

Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 is a choral work composed in 1888. It stands out for its serene and introspective character, departing from the dramatic conventions of many traditional requiems. The absence of the ‘Dies Irae’ section creates a uniquely meditative atmosphere. This piece is...

The Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5, is a large-scale choral and orchestral Requiem mass composed by Hector Berlioz. Premiering in Paris in 1837, the composition is notable for its monumental scale, requiring a massive orchestra and a four-part choir. One of its most distinguishing acoustic features i...

Mozart's Requiem in D minor, K. 626 sets Latin texts from the Catholic Mass for the Dead for vocal soloists, choir, and orchestra. Left unfinished at his death, it is widely performed in a completion by Franz Xaver Süssmayr. That history matters when discussing the work, since the familiar performin...

Hector Berlioz's Grande messe des morts, commonly called the Requiem, was completed in 1837 and sets the Latin text of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass. It requires a large orchestra, chorus, vocal soloists, and four separate brass ensembles positioned away from the main orchestra. The work alternate...

Grande Messe des morts, Op. 5, is a large-scale Requiem mass composed by Hector Berlioz in 1837. The work was commissioned by the French government to commemorate soldiers who died in the Revolution of 1830. Scored for a massive orchestra, a large chorus, a tenor soloist, and four spatially separate...

The lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) is a medium-to-large species of requiem shark belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. It derives its common name from its distinct yellow-brown skin coloration, which provides camouflage against the sandy bottoms of shallow coastal waters. Lemon sharks inhabi...

Berlioz’s Grande Messe des morts, or Requiem, stands as a monumental achievement in Romantic orchestral music. Composed in 1837, this choral work features a massive orchestra and explores themes of death and mourning through intensely dramatic soundscapes. It is notable for its innovative use of ins...

Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem sets the Latin Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead for solo voices, large chorus, and orchestra. Completed in 1874, it was created to honor the writer Alessandro Manzoni. Verdi brought the expressive resources of an opera composer to a sacred text, producing music in w...

György Ligeti's "Requiem," composed between 1963 and 1965, is a large-scale choral and orchestral work for soloists, double chorus, and orchestra. The piece is one of the definitive examples of the composer's micropolyphonic technique, creating dense and complex sonic textures through interweaving m...

The blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus) is a small requiem shark of the family Carcharhinidae, found in shallow coastal waters throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Adults typically reach lengths of 1.5 to 1.6 meters. The species is readily identified by the conspicuous black markings on t...

German biblical passages replace the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead in Johannes Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45. This large-scale Romantic work for chorus, orchestra, and soloists draws on the Lutheran Bible and places consolation for the living at the center of its treatment of mortalit...

Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48 is a significant choral work composed between 1887 and 1890. It offers a distinctive take on the traditional requiem mass, prioritizing a serene and consoling atmosphere through its gentle harmonies and instrumentation. The piece is notable for its understated beauty and emot...