Pennod 2 Requiem

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-# Requiem #

-A requiem is part remembrance

-and part celebration.

-Requiem suggests 'rest' to me

-and that's its literal meaning.

-# Dona eis... #

-It carries you

-on an emotional journey.

-Over 2,000 requiems have been

-composed over the past 500 years...

-..among which are some of the most

-famous classical works in history.

-Instilling fear

-was fashionable within the Church.

-It kept the faithful true and

-it brought the unfaithful to Church.

-We're all familiar with the word.

-Such is the power

-of ritual and music...

-..at the heart

-of life's greatest mystery - death.

-Subtitles

-It I had a top ten of requiems,

-the Faure would be at number one.

-For me, it's Britten

-followed by Verdi.

-I have two favourites... or maybe

-even three favourites.

-The Penderecki

-is my third favourite.

-The three that come to mind

-are Mozart, Faure and Britten.

-In terms of the Catholic

-requiem Mass, I would favour Faure.

-Mozart, Brahms and Verdi

-with Britten a close fourth.

-My personal favourite is Howells,

-which isn't very well known.

-Faure is at number four.

-Penderecki and Faure

-will jostle for third spot!

-# The day of tears and mourning

-# When from the ashes shall arise #

-The roots of the requiem

-are in plainsong.

-It was earliest

-Christian church music...

-..and the foundation

-of Christian music for centuries.

-# Spare us by your mercy, Lord #

-Plainsong suits the requiem.

-It's staid and serious.

-The text of the requiem Mass is

-expressed very well in plainsong.

-Between the sixth

-and the ninth centuries...

-..the plainsong repertory

-was adapted and it developed.

-# Aeternam #

-The plainsong evolved

-into a polyphonic form.

-The earliest polyphonic requiem...

-..was written by Johannes Ockeghem

-in around 1470.

-The idea of moving towards polyphony

-was to elevate the occasion.

-There was more of a need for

-celebratory music than sombre music.

-Following Ockeghem's example...

-..Tomas Luis de Victoria

-developed the form further...

-..with this work, written in 1603.

-I think Victoria's requiem

-is easy on the ear.

-He was a priest who was ordained

-by the Bishop Of St Asaph.

-I can hear the voice of the priest.

-# Et lux perpetua... #

-It's a foretaste of Heaven.

-# Luceat eis... #

-In Victoria's times,

-it was an all-male choir.

-There were no female choristers.

-# Luceat eis... #

-This, the last of Victoria's works,

-is a perfect example of polyphony...

-..and is classed as a masterpiece.

-# Eis #

-His requiem was also the final work

-of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

-He wrote it in Vienna

-almost 200 years later, in 1791.

-Mozart got the commission

-from a stranger...

-..bringing a large fee from

-a nobleman called Count Walsegg.

-Mozart was under financial pressure

-and, as his health deteriorated...

-..he became obsessed

-with completing his requiem.

-He was ill

-but the words inspired him.

-He may have sensed

-that he was close to death...

-..and that

-he was writing his own requiem.

-Mozart's requiem

-has been romanticized.

-Was it his personal requiem?

-Did he foresee his own death?

-Did he know he would pass away

-before he could complete the work?

-Mozart died

-on the December 5th, 1791...

-..before he could complete

-his requiem.

-Just after his funeral...

-..a memorial service was held

-in St Michael's Church, Vienna.

-In 1991, a document

-found in the church archives...

-..proves that

-parts of the unfinished requiem...

-..were performed at that service.

-Count Walsegg, who commissioned

-the requiem, knew nothing of this.

-This is the original document.

-This is the date - December 10th.

-And the name -

-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

-For the church bells,

-three gulden and 36 kreuzer.

-The document lists the costs of

-the mass, the priest's vestments...

-..and the black cloth hanging

-between the roof and the high altar.

-In addition to this document,

-an article in a newsletter...

-..proves that the requiem

-was performed.

-How can you not feel sad

-when you hear it?

-And yet...

-..there's something

-incredibly joyous about it.

-It's uplifting.

-# Judicandus homo reus #

-This is the point at which

-Mozart stopped writing the requiem.

-It's a passage which expresses

-the sense of darkening anxiety.

-Constanze had to

-get the requiem finished.

-She needed the money.

-On his deathbed, Mozart instructed

-Franz Xaver Sussmayr, his pupil...

-..how he wanted the work to go.

-Sussmayr was a composer

-who had moved to Vienna...

-..and became

-close friends with Mozart.

-All we know about Sussmayr is that

-he completed the Mozart requiem.

-The manuscripts, stored at

-the Austrian National Library...

-..offer a fascinating glimpse of the

-way Sussmayr approached the task.

-Compare the manuscript by Mozart

-and the manuscript by Sussmayr....

-..and we notice

-a striking similarity.

-At the head of the page,

-Dies Irae written by Mozart.

-Sussmayr tried to imitate

-Mozart's handwriting.

-We must state

-he imitated it very well.

-Sussmayr's handwriting

-and Mozart's handwriting...

-..are remarkably similar.

-This was a real game of Cluedo!

-There's further evidence of the ruse

-on the first page...

-..where we see Mozart's signature

-dated '92...

-..which was

-a year after Mozart's death.

-# As Thou promised Abraham

-# As Thou promised Abraham

-# And his seed #

-The melodies and the drama

-of Mozart's work...

-..is utterly brilliant.

-# And his seed

-# As Thou promised Abraham

-# As Thou promised Abraham

-# And his seed #

-In the next part,

-our journey takes us to Germany...

-..and an influential composer who

-transformed the requiem for ever.

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-Subtitles

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-The significance of the requiem

-fires the imagination of composers.

-They may write

-numerous symphonies and operas...

-..but usually only one requiem Mass.

-His requiem was the last orchestral

-work written by Robert Schumann...

-..before he attempted suicide and

-was committed to a mental asylum.

-# Requiem aeternam #

-There's a sense of longing

-in the music.

-It's mournful.

-# Dona eis

-# Requiem

-# Requiem

-# Requiem #

-It's simple, homophonic music.

-It's like the faithful

-praying through a hymn.

-# Requiem aeternam

-# Requiem

-# Dona eis

-# Et lux perpetua

-# Luceat eis

-# Luceat eis

-# Et lux perpetua

-# Luceat eis

-# Et lux perpetua

-# Luceat eis #

-D flat major

-is incredibly hard to play in.

-Schumann meant

-something specific by that.

-It's a tonality and a sense that is

-unlike any other piece I know.

-# Requiem #

-Schumann never heard

-his own requiem.

-# Aeternam #

-After his death...

-..his widow sent the manuscript

-to his friend, Johannes Brahms.

-It was Brahms who suggested

-that the work should be published.

-By that stage, Brahms had begun

-to write a requiem...

-..in memory of Schumann,

-a man who inspired him.

-Brahms's work is called

-Ein Deutsches Requiem.

-He ignored the Latin text

-and set his work entirely in German.

-That was the point,

-according to Brahms.

-He wanted to write

-in a language people understood.

-Maybe that allowed him

-to be emotional and honest.

-Brahms was part of

-the German Protestant tradition.

-In his requiem, he sets parts of the

-German, Lutheran Bible to music.

-It's religious...

-..but it isn't requiem,

-in the traditional sense.

-The idea that you could adapt

-a requiem to your own purpose...

-..began with Brahms.

-It's in memory of his mother

-and of Schumann.

-There was a lot happening

-in his life.

-His requiem is a collage

-of emotions and reflections...

-..about the meaning of death.

-In it, he reflects upon death...

-..and what the Christian response

-to death should be.

-# Selig sind #

-It's like a prayer.

-It starts peacefully.

-# Selig sind, die da Leid tragen

-# Denn sie sollen getrostet werden #

-They move together,

-singing in block chords.

-# Selig sind

-# Selig sind

-# Die da Leid

-# Leid tragen #

-I love the fact

-it's in his own language.

-It's a model

-for what came afterwards.

-# Denn sie sollen getrostet

-# Getrostet werden

-# Die mit Tranen #

-It's a message for the living...

-..rather than a prayer for the dead.

-He speaks to those

-who are still on earth.

-# Die mit Tranen

-# Mit Tranen saen

-# Werden mit Freuden

-# Mit Freuden ernten

-# Werden mit Freuden

-# Ernten #

-The first three movements were

-performed at Musikverein, Vienna...

-..on December 1st, 1867.

-Brahms himself was the conductor.

-Over 100 years later, in 1997,

-Bryn Terfel performed the work...

-..in the same location.

-# Herr, lehre doch mich

-# Das ein Ende mit mir haben mus #

-I'll never forget that performance.

-If I were marooned on an island

-with one record...

-..I'd choose...

-# Denn alles Fleisch es ist wie Gras

-# Da-dee da da-dee-da #

-It's a huge crescendo.

-It's like walking

-to the top of Snowdon.

-What a crescendo!

-That moment elevates you.

-# Und alle Herrlichkeit... #

-It's unacceptable to applaud.

-It isn't the done thing.

-After a movement such at that...

-..you really want to stand up...

-..and scream.

-The words translate as, "Lord,

-teach me that I must have an end."

-It's impossible to continue.

-That's the challenge which faced

-the composers over the centuries.

-Brahms inspired

-the composers of the future.

-In the next programme, we look at

-the development of the requiem...

-..into the 20th century,

-as it became a political statement.

-S4C subtitles by Eirlys A Jones

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