Requiem (Schumann)

Not to be confused with Requiem für Mignon.

Requiem Op. 148 is a nine movement work by Robert Schumann for choir and orchestra. The work was originally composed in 1852 and published in 1865, eight years after the composer's death. The work runs approximately 33 minutes.

Requiem
by Robert Schumann
Key	D Flat Major
Opus	142
Period	Romantic
Genre	Requiem
Language	Latin
Composed	1852 (1852)
Duration	33 minutes
Movements	9
Scoring	Choir & Orchestra
Premiere
Date	1865 (1865)

Motivation for Composition

Started in 1852, Schumann's requiem was one of the last works the composer would successfully complete. Critics point to the work as evidence of Schumann's failing creativity and mental state.

Absent any known commission, substantial questions have been raised about Schumann's motivation for writing a requiem which represented a significant departure from the composer's previous style, in which he remained mostly secular. While Schumann was contractually obligated to perform in cathedrals several times per year after his move 1850 to Düsseldorf, documentation is not conclusive on the composer's religious background.

During Schumann's stay in an asylum for a suicide attempt, his requiem was one of few that he continued to compose. The original manuscript indicates that it was heavily revised, demonstrating Schumann's poor state of mind. It is speculated that Schumann, like Mozart, was writing his own mass.

Structure

The work consists of nine movements:

1. Requiem
2. Te decet
3. Dies irae
4. Liber scriptus
5. Qui Mariam absolvisti
6. Domine Jesu Christe
7. Hostias et preces tibi
8. Sanctus
9. Benedictus

Notable Recordings

• Bernhard Klee, Conductor [1]
• Hungarian State Orchestra, József Gregor Bass, June 3rd, 1987. [2]
• Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Wolfgang Sawallisch Conductor, October 7th, 1996. [3]
• Saarbrücken-Kaiserslautern Philharmonic Orchestra, Sibylla Rubens Soprano, Christoph Prégardien Tenor, Ingeborg Danz Bass Georg Grün Conductor, 2015. [4]