0:00:00 > 0:00:00- *
0:00:00 > 0:00:05- A requiem is part remembrance - and part celebration.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12- These works bring something - different to every performer.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19- Rest. Illumination. Peace.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25- # Requiem #
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- It carries you - on an emotional journey.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40- It can be performed - in memory of an individual...
0:00:40 > 0:00:44- ..or it can be a response - to humanity.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52- I like the emphasis in the requiem - on the next world...
0:00:52 > 0:00:54- ..be that Heaven or Hell.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57- It creates tension.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03- Instilling fear - was fashionable within the Church.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08- It kept the faithful true and - it brought the unfaithful to Church.
0:01:11 > 0:01:17- From the simple, Medieval plainsong - to Britten in the 20th century...
0:01:17 > 0:01:23- ..over 2,000 requiems have been - composed over the past 500 years.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- It's about the upbeat quavers. - If we can always energize that.
0:01:30 > 0:01:35- The requiem has inspired some of - our most famous classical works.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38- Keep that forward energy about it.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42- From its Catholic roots...
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- ..the requiem has flowered - in other Christian traditions...
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- ..and in a variety of cultures.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51- Da, da-da! Da, da-da!
0:01:54 > 0:01:56- We're all familiar with the word.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59- Such is the power - of ritual and music...
0:01:59 > 0:02:03- ..at the heart - of life's greatest mystery - death.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06- Subtitles
0:02:08 > 0:02:10- In this series...
0:02:10 > 0:02:15- ..we follow the development - of the requiem as a musical form.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19- We also look at how composers - over the centuries...
0:02:19 > 0:02:21- ..were inspired - by this unique genre.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27- # Lacrimosa #
0:02:27 > 0:02:31- The roots of the requiem - lie in early Christianity.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34- Death is one thing - we all have in common.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39- Whatever our beliefs, - we all feel bereavement and loss.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43- The requiem can express this - through words and music.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47- The music to which it's set gives - the text a unique meaning each time.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50- The words have a real gravitas.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54- They transcend mere words.
0:02:59 > 0:03:04- From its Church roots, the requiem - has moved out to the concert hall.
0:03:06 > 0:03:10- Composers saw the potential - of the drama and the emotion...
0:03:10 > 0:03:12- ..in the requiem Mass text.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16- It's a framework - which can be flexible...
0:03:16 > 0:03:19- ..but which also holds - a timeless message.
0:03:20 > 0:03:25- Great requiems written by Berlioz, - Mozart, Verdi and Britten...
0:03:26 > 0:03:29- ..are performed all over the world.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34- The impetus behind the symphonic, - theatrical requiem...
0:03:35 > 0:03:40- ..came from revolutionary turmoil in - France in the late 18th century...
0:03:40 > 0:03:44- ..thanks to one man, - who is largely overlooked now.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46- The Italian, Luigi Cherubini.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01- # Dies irae
0:04:01 > 0:04:03- # Dies illa
0:04:03 > 0:04:07- # Solvet saeclum in favilla
0:04:07 > 0:04:10- # Teste David cum Sybilla
0:04:11 > 0:04:16- # Quantus tremor est futurus - Quando Judex est venturus
0:04:18 > 0:04:22- # Cuncta stricte discussurus
0:04:23 > 0:04:28- # Tuba mirum spargens sonum
0:04:30 > 0:04:33- # Per sepulcra regionum
0:04:34 > 0:04:38- # Coget omnes ante thronum
0:04:39 > 0:04:42- # Coget omnes, coget omnes
0:04:42 > 0:04:45- # Ante thronum #
0:04:46 > 0:04:51- Cherubini's work marked a sea change - in the history of the requiem.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53- It was an unexpected development.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57- Cherubini doesn't naturally - spring to mind...
0:04:57 > 0:05:01- ..when you think of - composers of great requiems.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- When you listen to - his dramatic Dies Irae...
0:05:05 > 0:05:09- ..you realize it moves rapidly - from one section to another.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16- It begins with a trumpet call - and one stroke of the gong.
0:05:17 > 0:05:21- These instantly fills us - with the fear of Judgement Day.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- It's no wonder composers - looked at Cherubini as a model.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- He did something which was very new.
0:05:31 > 0:05:37- # Judicati responsura
0:05:38 > 0:05:43- # Liber scriptus proferetur
0:05:44 > 0:05:48- # In quo totum continetur
0:05:49 > 0:05:52- # Unde mundus judicetur #
0:05:53 > 0:05:55- Dies irae - the day of wrath.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02- # Quidquid latet apparebit #
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- People are so frightened, - they can only speak in whispers.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15- It then builds until it - fully expresses the fear of death.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24- # Rex tremendae majestatis
0:06:27 > 0:06:30- # Rex tremendae majestatis
0:06:30 > 0:06:35- # Qui salvados salvas gratis #
0:06:35 > 0:06:40- Cherubini sparked a change in the - way composers viewed the requiem.
0:06:41 > 0:06:47- He saw it belonged in the Church but - it could exist in the outside world.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53- Cherubini was a pioneer...
0:06:54 > 0:06:58- ..who had a great influence - on composers who came after him.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01- He opened the door - to dramatic requiems...
0:07:01 > 0:07:05- ..and Schumann and Brahms - were among his admirers.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- Beethoven said that - if he wrote a requiem...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11- ..Cherubini would be his model.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19- Funeral services have been part of - Christianity since its early days.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23- The requiem began as a prayer - for the souls of the dead.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28- The requiem begins by asking God - to give souls eternal rest.
0:07:28 > 0:07:31- It then moves on to sections - which depict...
0:07:31 > 0:07:35- ..things which aren't - entirely restful!
0:07:38 > 0:07:42- The requiem - became a reminder to the living...
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- ..of the terrors of Judgement Day...
0:07:45 > 0:07:49- ..and the need to be good - to win eternal life in Heaven.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- That was the point of the Latin poem - Dies Irae - The Day Of Wrath.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02- It was written by Thomas de Celano - in the 16th century.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06- Unlike the ordinary Mass...
0:08:07 > 0:08:10- ..this section is unique - to the Requiem.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15- It offers the dramatic element - which inspired composers...
0:08:15 > 0:08:18- ..from the late - 18th century onwards.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- As the liturgy of requiem develops - in the later Middle Ages...
0:08:22 > 0:08:26- ..there's an element - of verbal theatre about requiem.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- It's meant to make us sit up a bit.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33- # Dies irae. Dies illa #
0:08:33 > 0:08:39- It's a warning to unbelievers. - Memento mori - you will die.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43- It's much like the artwork - on church walls...
0:08:43 > 0:08:47- ..depicting how we will burn - in an eternal fire...
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- ..and be prodded by pitchforks.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53- Horrific punishments.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59- # Day of wrath! Day of mourning!
0:08:59 > 0:09:02- # See fulfilled - the prophets' warning
0:09:02 > 0:09:05- # Heaven and earth in ashes burning!
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- # O, what fear man's bosom rendeth
0:09:12 > 0:09:16- # When from Heav'n - the Judge descendeth
0:09:16 > 0:09:21- # On whose sentence all dependeth #
0:09:21 > 0:09:25- Once you begin to have - the terrors of judgement...
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- ..vigorously portrayed - in the text...
0:09:28 > 0:09:31- ..Christmas has come early - for the composer!
0:09:31 > 0:09:35- They can elaborate the dramatic - elements and frequently they do.
0:09:40 > 0:09:47- # Dies irae, dies irae #
0:09:56 > 0:10:01- # Death and nature - will be astounded... #
0:10:02 > 0:10:05- The Dies Irae - has changed dramatically...
0:10:05 > 0:10:09- ..since it was written - as a plainsong centuries ago.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13- # To answer the judgement #
0:10:13 > 0:10:17- The Church was none too happy - with these changes.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23- Verdi Expert, La Scala Theatre
0:10:24 > 0:10:25- The Church wasn't happy...
0:10:26 > 0:10:28- ..to see religious text...
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- ..paired with such dramatic music.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36- The Church itself brought in - elements such as the Dies Irae...
0:10:36 > 0:10:42- ..with the original thinking that - it would possibly frighten people...
0:10:42 > 0:10:44- ..and draw them into the faith.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49- I can't see how they could object - to composers' creative response...
0:10:49 > 0:10:54- ..to the text which they used within - their own four walls.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02- In the next part, - we stay in France...
0:11:03 > 0:11:08- ..to see how Faure and Berlioz - interpreted death.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12- How did they portray Judgement Day - in their work?
0:11:12 > 0:11:13- .
0:11:18 > 0:11:18- Subtitles
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- Subtitles- - Subtitles
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- Some 70 years - after Cherubini wrote his requiem...
0:11:35 > 0:11:39- ..Faure's Requiem premiered - at La Madeleine Church, Paris.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42- Faure himself was the conductor.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47- Unlike Mozart, - Cherubini and Berlioz...
0:11:47 > 0:11:52- ..Faure omits the dramatic words - of the Dies Irae from his requiem.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55- Rather, it's a work - which offers comfort...
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- ..and eternal rest - to the soul of the departed.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04- Its focus is not - on the horror of Judgement Day.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10- There's something comforting and - uplifting about the Faure Requiem.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13- It's not always true of other works.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20- Specific numbers - in specific pieces...
0:12:21 > 0:12:25- ..seem to trigger - a very strong emotion with people.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29- The most obvious one being - the Pie Jesu in the Faure Requiem.
0:12:30 > 0:12:38- # Pie Jesu Domine
0:12:41 > 0:12:50- # Dona eis requiem
0:12:51 > 0:13:01- # Dona eis requiem #
0:13:04 > 0:13:09- Like Cherubini, Faure composed - the Pie Jesu as a separate movement.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14- It has become one of the - most well known Requiem works...
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- ..and it set the pattern - for the future.
0:13:19 > 0:13:29- # Pie Jesu Domine
0:13:30 > 0:13:40- # Dona eis requiem
0:13:41 > 0:13:50- # Dona eis requiem #
0:13:51 > 0:13:56- The idea is that one lone person - sings the words as a prayer.
0:13:56 > 0:14:01- It's a difficult piece to sing - because it's charged with emotion...
0:14:01 > 0:14:03- ..but it must sound simple.
0:14:04 > 0:14:14- # Dona eis domine
0:14:15 > 0:14:25- # Dona eis requiem
0:14:26 > 0:14:36- # Sempiternam requiem
0:14:37 > 0:14:47- # Sempiternam requiem #
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- It doesn't have the gesture - of Verdi, Berlioz or Britten...
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- ..but it soothes, and that - has to be one of the basic needs...
0:14:56 > 0:14:58- ..that we have from a requiem.
0:15:02 > 0:15:12- # Pie, Pie Jesu
0:15:13 > 0:15:23- # Pie Jesu Domine #
0:15:23 > 0:15:28- I sang Pie Jesu in a service - for the children of Dunblane.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33- The words mean so much and I saw - their message in a new light...
0:15:33 > 0:15:36- ..and I understood - what Faure wanted to say.
0:15:37 > 0:15:48- # Sempiternam requiem
0:15:49 > 0:16:07- # Sempiternam requiem #
0:16:08 > 0:16:12- It's a comforting lullaby - to ease you towards death.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17- Faure didn't fear death. - He accepted it.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- Faure was reacting against...
0:16:22 > 0:16:27- ..what he saw as the histrionics - of Grande Messe Des Morts...
0:16:27 > 0:16:32- ..which was written by Hector - Berlioz 50 years earlier, in 1837.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- This requiem was commissioned - by the French government...
0:16:37 > 0:16:39- ..for a military funeral.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- It was an expression - of national glory.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46- The premiere was staged - at Les Invalides Church, Paris...
0:16:47 > 0:16:49- ..but it was almost ruined...
0:16:49 > 0:16:53- ..thanks to the conductor, - Francois Antoine Habeneck.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- When they came to the Tuba Mirum...
0:16:57 > 0:17:01- ..the conductor had to give the beat - to four brass bands...
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- ..to move them - into a different tempo.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14- Suddenly, the conductor - reached into his pocket...
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- ..and he pulled out a snuff box.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22- Berlioz leapt from the audience.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28- He grabbed the baton and conducted - the rest of the performance.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34- He made a success from something - which was on the brink of disaster.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- It was an extremely high profile - performance.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44- The Dies Irae includes several - verses which lead to Judgement Day.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48- In the Tuba Mirum, - the last trumpet sounds...
0:17:48 > 0:17:52- ..to call the souls of the departed - to assemble at God's throne...
0:17:53 > 0:17:54- ..to be judged.
0:18:02 > 0:18:13- # Tuba mirum spargens sonum... #
0:18:17 > 0:18:22- The four brass bands included 40 - players spread around the church...
0:18:23 > 0:18:28- ..to convey Berlioz's grand vision - of the last trump on Judgement Day.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34- He thought, - "If I'm going to write a requiem...
0:18:35 > 0:18:40- ..there will never have been - anything like it before nor after."
0:18:49 > 0:18:52- In his score, - he specified a huge choir...
0:18:52 > 0:18:56- ..where men outnumbered women - by almost two to one...
0:18:56 > 0:19:00- ..and an orchestra with - 108 string players and 16 timpani.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05- Berlioz said if all his works - but one were to be destroyed...
0:19:05 > 0:19:10- ..he would plead for his requiem, - Grande Messe Des Morts, to be saved.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- Of all the requiems - written as government commissions...
0:19:26 > 0:19:28- ..the strangest - is by Benjamin Britten.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35- A few weeks into World War II, the - Japanese government approached him.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39- They commissioned him to - write a piece to honour the emperor.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56- I'm sure it wasn't the piece - they wanted...
0:19:56 > 0:19:59- ..but he's given us - a great masterpiece.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03- It's as good as the War Requiem - and every bit as personal.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11- Some 20 years before War Requiem...
0:20:11 > 0:20:17- ..Britten wrote Sinfonia Da Requiem - for Japan, in the shadow of war.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24- The three movements are called - Dies Irae, Requiem Aeternam...
0:20:24 > 0:20:29- ..and Lacrimosa, with its - tears of rage rather than sadness.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34- Shortly before Japan - attacked Pearl Harbor...
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- ..they rejected the work - and sent it back.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51- Despite the early history - of Sinfonia Da Requiem...
0:20:52 > 0:20:57- ..had he called it something like - Symphony In Three Movements...
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- ..it wouldn't have been rejected.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02- It contains no words.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23- It isn't a requiem, of course.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27- It's a statement by Britten - about pacifism...
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- ..and his anguish in the face - of the war which had broken out...
0:21:32 > 0:21:35- ..a mere 20 years - after the Great War.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45- It's like a ride into abyss.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- Britten depicts - the mechanism of war here.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56- Horses going into battle.
0:22:01 > 0:22:05- It feels like it's galloping - out of control. So raw, so feral.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31- You can hear the guns - and the explosions.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55- Next time, we trace - the development of the requiem...
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- ..as composers broke away - from the Catholic liturgy.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04- We also discover how the requiem - became part of other cultures.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22- S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones
0:23:22 > 0:23:22- .