messe des morts

In 1837, the French Ministry of the Interior commissioned Berlioz to compose a Requiem Mass for the soldiers who had died during the Revolution of 1830; it was also to be a show of support for the government of King Louis-Philippe.

The work derives its text from the traditional Latin Requiem Mass. It has a duration of approximately ninety minutes, although there are faster recordings of under seventy-five minutes.

Verdi's Requiem is one of the most famous and enthralling settings of the Catholic funeral mass. The work was composed in memory of the Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, who was profoundly admired by Verdi, and it was first performed on May 22, 1874, on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.

Hector Berlioz, in full Louis-Hector Berlioz, (born December 11, 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France - died March 8, 1869, Paris), French composer, critic, and conductor of the Romantic period, known largely for his Symphonie fantastique (1830), the choral symphony Roméo et Juliette (1839), and the dramatic piece La ...

ten movements Berlioz himself valued this work so much that he said late in life if all of his compositions were to be destroyed save one, he would “crave mercy for his Grande Messe des Morts.” The Grande Messe des Morts [Requiem] is laid out in ten movements.

In its original performance, there were 400 singers and players total assembled, including 20 woodwinds, 12 horns, more than 100 strings, and 4 brass emsembles positioned at four corners of the concert stage. Among all his works, Requiem apparently held a special place in Berlioz's heart.

Wolfgang Amadeus MozartFranz Xaver Süssmayr Requiem/Composers Requiem in D Minor, K 626, requiem mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, left incomplete at his death on December 5, 1791. Until the late 20th century the work was most often heard as it had been completed by Mozart's student Franz Xaver Süssmayr.

Giuseppe Verdi, Requiem, 'Dies Irae' The Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) is the best known movement from the Requiem and displays a distinctive chaotic theatricality. After Mozart's requiem, it has been said that Verdi's requiem is the second most performed choral piece of recent times.

Late Classical/early Romantic (born 1770–1799)

The outstanding characteristics of Berlioz's music - its dramatic expressiveness and variety - account for the feeling of attraction or repulsion that it produces in the listener.

The Requiem is comprised of the following eight movements in Süssmayr's Completed manuscript: Introitus (Requiem asternam) Kyrie. Sequentia (Dies irae, Tuba Mirum, Rex Tremendae, Recordare, Confutatis, Lacrimosa)

Symphonie Fantastique French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz wrote some of the defining Romantic works of the 19th century, including Symphonie Fantastique, his most famous work.