Hans Werner Henze Hans Werner Henze (1 July 1926 – 27 October 2012) was a German composer. His large oeuvre of works is extremely varied in style, having been influenced by serialism, atonality, Stravinsky, Italian music, Arabic music and jazz, as well as ...

composed the nine Sacred Concertos that comprise his

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

over the course of three years from 1991 to 1993 on commissions from the

London Sinfonietta The London Sinfonietta is an English contemporary chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble has headquarters at Kings Place and is Resident Orchestra at the Southbank Centre. Since its inaugural concert in 1968—gi ...

, Suntory Corporation for the NHK Philharmonic, and

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the con ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. The first movement, ''Introitus: Requiem Aeternam'' was commissioned by the London Sinfonietta as part of a memorial concert for Artistic Director Michael Vyner who died on 20 October 1989. In addition to Henze, the London Sinfonietta also commissioned seven other prominent composers (

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled '' Sequenza''), and for his pioneering wo ...

, Sir

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, Sir

Peter Maxwell Davies Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (8 September 1934 – 14 March 2016) was an English composer and conductor, who in 2004 was made Master of the Queen's Music. As a student at both the University of Manchester and the Royal Manchester College of Mus ...

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, and

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) to write works in Vyner's memory to make up the program which was performed on the 6 May 1990. The Requiem consists of nine Sacred Concertos that, with one exception, carry the common movement titles of the

Mass, albeit out of order. Henze also chooses to interpolate the

Ave verum corpus "" is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century att ...

in with the other movements, though in his autobiography ''Bohemian Fifths'' he never expressly states why. Even though the movements carry the traditional titles, there are no singers, and no text within the work. In his autobiography, Henze states that this choice was made to open up the scope of the Requiem and make it a "...secular, multicultural piece, an act of brotherly love that was written, 'in memoriam Michael Vyner,'whose name does duty for all the many other people in the world who have died before their time and whose sufferings and passing are mourned in my music."(471)

Fact sheet

Length: Approx. 70 Minutes
Publisher: Schott
Dedication: in memoriam Michael Vyner
Full Title: Requiem: Nine Sacred Concertos for Piano Solo, Trumpet Concertante and large Chamber Orchestra

First complete performance

February 24, 1993, Philharmonic Hall, Cologne Ensemble Modern

First performances of individual movements

*Introitus: May 6, 1990, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London Sinfonietta * Dies Irae: December 11, 1991, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, London Sinfonietta *

Ave Verum Corpus "" is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century att ...

: Premiered with Dies Irae and Lux Aeterna *Lux Aeterna: Premiered with Dies Irae and Ave Verum Corpus *Rex Tremendae: November 26, 1992, Suntory Hall, Tokyo, NHK Symphony Orchestra *

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the "Lamb of God" is honoured within the Catholic Mass and other Christian liturgies descending from the Latin liturgical tradition. It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and i ...

: January 14, 1991, BBC Henze Festival, Barbican Centre, London, Parnassus Ensemble *Tuba Mirum: February 24, 1993, Philharmonic Hall, Cologne, Ensemble Modern *

Lacrimosa The ''Lacrimosa'' (Latin for " weeping/tearful"), also a name that derives from ''Our Lady of Sorrows'', a title given to The Virgin Mary, is part of the Dies Irae sequence in the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass. Its text comes from the Latin 18th an ...

: Premiered with Rex Tremendae and Sanctus *

Sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, th ...

: Premiered with Rex Tremendae and Lacrimosa

Instrumentation

*Trumpet Concertante in C *Piano Solo *2 Flutes (doubling piccolo and alto flute) *1 Oboe *1 English Horn *1 Bb Clarinet (Doubling Eb) *1 Bb Bass Clarinet (Doubling Bb Contrabass Clarinet) *1 Soprano Saxophone (Doubling Eb Alto and Eb Baritone Sax) *1 Bassoon *2 Horns in F *2 Trumpets in C *2 Bass Trumpets in C (Tuba Mirum only) *1 Tenor Trombone *1 Bass Trombone (Doubling Contrabass Trombone) *Timpani *Harp *Celesta *4 Violins *3 Violas *3 Cellos *1 Double Bass *Percussion (3 Players): **Triangle **3 Suspended Cymbals **Cymbals (pair) **3 Tamtams **Thunder Sheet **Woodblock **Temple Blocks **Tambourine **Snare Drum **3 Tomtoms **String Drum **Bass Drum with Cymbal **Matraca

Bibliography

*Henze, Hans Werner. ''Musik und Politik: Schriften und Gespräche 1955–1975'', ed. J. Brockmeier (Munich, 1976, enlarged 2/1984; Eng. trans., 1982) ncl. Essays, 1964*Henze, Hans Werner. ''Reiselieder mit böhmischen Quinten: autobiographische Mitteilungen''. 1926–1995 (Frankfurt, 1996; Eng. trans., 1998) *Henze, Hans Werner. ''Ein Werkverzeichnis''. 1946–1996 Schott, Mainz, 1996. *Palmer-Fuchsel, Virginia
Hans Werner Henze
Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy {{authority control 1993 compositions

Henze Henze is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Albert Henze (1894–1979), German Wehrmacht general *Frank Henze (born 1977), German slalom canoeist * Gertrud Henze (1901–2014), a German supercentenarian * Gregor Henze, Germ ...

Compositions by Hans Werner Henze