Opera Scotland

Grande Messe des Morts Requiem, op5

Tours by decade

Tours by location

Music

Hector Berlioz (born La Côte St André, Isère, 11 December 1803; died Paris, 8 March 1869)

Text

Liturgy

 

Premieres

First Performance: Paris (Les Invalides), 5 December 1837.

First Performance in UK: tbc

First Performance in Scotland: Glasgow (St Andrew's Hall ?), 31 January 1884.

 

Background

The Berlioz Requiem was commissioned by the French government and requires huge forces - including sixteen timpani and four separate brass bands. Yet the tenor soloist only has one aria, and for most of the time the music is very restrained. The full forces are only used in a few short, but hugely impressive, episodes.

The Scottish premiere in 1884 was the third occasion when the work had been given in the UK. Recent performances in Scotland include one in the Kelvin Hall, Glasgow (an SNO Prom in 1978) and two at the Edinburgh Festival (1989 and 1998).