War Requiem - Movements and Structure

Movements and Structure

The work consists of six movements:

  • Requiem aeternam (10 minutes)
    • Requiem aeternam (chorus and boys' choir)
    • "What passing bells" (tenor solo) – Owen's "Anthem for Doomed Youth"
  • Dies irae (27 minutes)
    • Dies irae (chorus)
    • "Bugles sang" (baritone solo) – Owen's "Voices"
    • Liber scriptus (soprano solo and semi-chorus)
    • "Out there, we walked quite friendly up to death" (tenor and baritone soli)- Owen's "The Next War"
    • Recordare (women's chorus)
    • Confutatis (men's chorus)
    • "Be slowly lifted up" (baritone solo) – Owen's "Sonnet On Seeing a Piece of our Heavy Artillery Brought into Action"
    • Reprise of Dies irae (chorus)
    • Lacrimosa (soprano and chorus) interspersed with "Move him, move him" (tenor solo) Owen's "Futility"
  • Offertorium (10 minutes)
    • Domine Jesu Christe (boys' choir)
    • Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
    • Isaac and Abram (tenor and baritone soli)- Owen's "The Parable of the Old Man and the Young"
    • Hostias et preces tibi (boys' choir)
    • Reprise of Quam olim Abrahae (chorus)
  • Sanctus (10 minutes)
    • Sanctus and Benedictus (soprano solo and chorus)
    • "After the blast of lightning" (baritone solo) – Owen's "The End"
  • Agnus Dei (4 minutes)
    • Agnus Dei (chorus) interspersed with "One ever hangs" (chorus; tenor solo) – Owen's "At a Calvary near the Ancre"
  • Libera me (23 minutes)
    • Libera me (soprano solo and chorus)
    • Strange Meeting ("It seemed that out of battle I escaped") (tenor and baritone soli) – Owen's "Strange Meeting"
    • In paradisum (All)
    • Conclusion -Requiem Aeternam and Requiescant in Pace (Organ, Boys` choir and Mixed Chorus)

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