Benjamin Britten - Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20

Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976) - Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20 (1940)

I. Lacrymosa [0:00]
II. Dies irae [8:52]
III. Requiem aeternam [13:59]

New Philharmonia Orchestra, Benjamin Britten (1964)

Sinfonia da Requiem is a work for orchestra written by Benjamin Britten when he was 26. The work is in three movements and typically lasts around 20 minutes.

"[Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem] was one of several works commissioned from different composers by the Japanese government to mark Emperor Jimmu's 2600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire. The Japanese government rejected the Sinfonia for its use of Latin titles from the Catholic Requiem for its three movements and for its somber overall character, but it was received positively at its world premiere in New York [in 1941] under John Barbirolli.

The symphony is in three movements played without a break, and a performance usually lasts around 20 minutes. Britten's analysis, quoted in the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra's program notes, reads:

I. Lacrymosa. A slow marching lament in a persistent 6/8 rhythm with a strong tonal center on D. There are three main motives: 1) a syncopated, sequential theme announced by the cellos and answered by a solo bassoon; 2) a broad theme, based on the interval of a major seventh; 3) alternating chords on flute and trombones, outlined by piano, harps and trombones. The first section of the movement is quietly pulsating; the second is a long crescendo leading to a climax based on the first cello theme. There is no pause before:
II. Dies irae. A form of Dance of Death, with occasional moments of quiet marching rhythm. The dominating motif of this movement is announced at the start by the flutes and includes an important tremolando figure. Other motives are a triplet repeated-note figure in the trumpets, a slow, smooth tune on the saxophone, and a livelier syncopated one in the brass. The scheme of the movement is a series of climaxes of which the last is the most powerful, causing the music to disintegrate and to lead directly to:
III. Requiem aeternam. Very quietly, over a background of solo strings and harps, the flutes announce the quiet D-major tune, the principal motive of the movement. There is a middle section in which the strings play a flowing melody. This grows to a short climax, but the opening tune is soon resumed, and the work ends quietly in a long sustained clarinet note."

(source: Wikipedia)

In memory of Benjamin Britten (22 November 1913 - 4 December 1976)