War Requiem

The War Requiem, Op. 66, is a large-scale setting of the Requiem composed by Benjamin Britten mostly in 1961 and completed in January 1962. 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.

For the film adaptation of this work, see War Requiem (film).

War Requiem
by Benjamin Britten
Interior of the new Coventry Cathedral, where the Requiem was first performed
Opus66
OccasionConsecration of the new Coventry Cathedral
Text
Language
  • Latin
  • English
Composed1961 (1961)–1962
Dedication
  • Roger Burney
  • Piers Dunkerley
  • David Gill
  • Michael Halliday
Performed30 May 1962 (1962-05-30)
Scoring
  • soprano
  • tenor
  • baritone
  • mixed choir
  • boys' choir
  • organ
  • orchestra
  • chamber orchestra

The work is scored 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".

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