Requiem. When we hear this word, it involuntarily causes us genuine sorrow, because it is usually associated with tragic events. Composers have written many works that reflect the special moments of a person’s life, associated with sorrow. For the tragic events, a special funeral service was created, which was accompanied by specific music.
That is why there is only one answer to the question of what is requiem - this is a funeral and requiem mass, which is dedicated to the memory of the deceased. These traditionally include such musical works as: “Lord, have mercy”, “Judgment Day” or “Day of Wrath”, as well as “The Lamb of God”. In the Middle Ages, these were serious choral works based on melodies of the Gregorian choral. The chapel was mainly characteristic of the Catholic churches. The works were built according to strict rules and were not used in social life. The canonical requiem acquired its classic look by 1570, it was personally approved by Pope Pius V.
The meaning of the word requiem differs in different churches. In Lutheran and Catholic, it meant "eternal peace" and, in fact, was an identification of inconsolable grief for those who had gone forever, only expressed in a certain musical form. In the Orthodox Church, such a service was limited to the strict sound of human voices without music, only the polyphony of true believers in the church was used.
This peculiar piece of music has gained wide distribution due to its performance in Catholic churches. The use of the unique acoustics of ancient buildings, the sound of unusual in strength human voices and organ instruments contributed to the creation of masterpieces for all centuries.
At first, the meaning of the word was requiem expressed in a traditional piece of music consisting of several parts. The text was written in Latin.
What is a requiem today? As before, this is a funeral, choral piece of music. It has solo parts that are accompanied by an orchestra. The ceremonial nature of it ceased to dominate, and he smoothly switched to a wide concert program of musical groups. So modernity has made changes to the requiem. Its significance has remained the same, and composers, as before, dedicate it to the memory of a loved one or to a large number of people who died in the war, using non-canonical texts.
Have you ever heard Mozart’s mourning melody sincere, sounding from the heart, unique in the intensity of emotions and sorrow? Unfortunately, he could not finish it to the end, as he himself suddenly died. If you are familiar with this work, then do not explain what a requiem is. This is such a melody, at the very first sounds of which you will understand everything yourself. Words are not needed here, because this music is someone’s endless grief that will never disappear, and it is talented in music. Mozart’s requiem will sound for as many years as humanity will exist.
The heyday of this trend in music fell on the romantic XVIII century, there were no tunes more significant than a requiem. The value of this piece of music in those days can hardly be overestimated (meaning traditional genres of sacred music). Ludwig van Beethoven, Ferenz Liszt, Saint-Saens, the Russian composer Osip Kozlovsky and many others worked on them.
A special place is occupied by the requiems of composers Brahms, Verdi, “Military Requiem” by Benjamin Britten, the work “Mass in C minor” by L. Cherubini, dedicated to the memory of Louis XVI, as well as “Polish Requiem” by Penderetsky.
What is a requiem? This is a piece of music that makes one think that life is fleeting and full of loss.