DEATH MUSIC

So we've all heard the sweet soundtrack for Requiem for a Dream, but what is a requiem anyway??  A requiem originated as a catholic mass specifically dedicated to the passing of a particular person's soul to the next life (or whatever it is that Catholics believe).  The term is more widely used to describe any piece dedicated to a person's passing. 

Requiems are often the most bad-ass piece that a composer ever makes.  It's not hard to understand why a composer might put an extra amount of creative energy into such a serious piece, and usually Requiems are written late in a composer's life so the composer has had time to develop and mature stylistically.

Let's look at two examples of note:

1. Verdi's Requiem.  You may have seen this small section of the requiem posted the other day:



Written to commemorate painter Alessandro Manzoni.  The full work is definitely worth a listen but it's not exactly over in the blink of an eye.

2.Mozart's Requiem!  Mozart's Requiem is one of my favorite pieces of music, certainly my favorite piece by Mozart.  It's emotive force and heavy orchestration outmatch not only his other compositions, but any other work of the era (1791).  Mozart wrote the piece on his deathbed for an anonymous commision so part of the lore is that from the composer's perspective he was writing his own death piece (and in fact he expired before it was finished).  A few of the parts...

Intro:


Kyrie:


Lacrimosa


I could go on, but the truth is each section is equally gripping - if you ever have the opportunity to see this piece live, spare no expense to do so. 

Stay tuned for movie music!