Sinfonia da Requiem, Opus 20 (1940)



Benjamin Britten was born in Lowestoft on 22 November 1913 and died in Aldeburgh on 4 December 1976. The first performance of the Sinfonia da Requiem took place at Carnegie Hall in New York on 29 March 1941, with John Barbirolli conducting the New York Philharmonic. The Sinfonia da Requiem is scored for piccolo, three flutes, bass flute, two oboes, English horn, three B-flat clarinets, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, E-flat alto saxophone, six horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, two harps, piano, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, whip, xylophone and strings.

Approximate performance time is eighteen minutes.

In 1939, composer Benjamin Britten and his lifelong companion, tenor Peter Pears, left their native England for the United States. Britten was disappointed with the English public’s lack of acceptance of his works. Further, Britten, a committed pacifist, was distraught over the cloud of war that was enveloping Europe. Poet W.H. Auden, whom Britten greatly admired, advised the young composer that America could provide an artistic and political haven.

Eventually, Britten’s love for his native land proved too strong, and he and Pears returned to England in the spring of 1942. However, during his relatively brief American stay, Britten composed several important works, including his Violin Concerto (1939), the song cycles Les Illuminations (1939) and Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo (1940), the Sinfonia da Requiem (1940), his first String Quartet (1941) and, in collaboration with Auden, his first opera, Paul Bunyan (1941).

In early 1940, Ralph Hawkes, chairman of the publisher Boosey and Hawkes, informed Britten that the Japanese government was commissioning several musical works to commemorate the 2,600^th anniversary of its empire. Britten agreed to compose a “short Symphony – or Symphonic poem. Called Sinfonia da Requiem (rather topical, but not of course mentioning dates or places) which sounds rather what they would like.” In an interview with the New York Sun, Britten described his intentions in composing the Sinfonia da Requiem:


        I’m making it just as anti – war as possible…I don’t believe you can express social, political or economic theories in music, but by coupling new music with well known musical phrases, I think it’s possible to get over certain ideas. I’m dedicating the symphony to the memory of my parents, and, since it is a kind of requiem, I’m quoting from the “Dies Irae” of the Requiem Mass. One’s apt to get muddled discussing such things – all I’m sure of is my own anti-war conviction as I write it.



Because of a delay in finalizing negotiations, Britten ultimately had to compose the work in the incredibly brief span of about three weeks. Britten completed the Sinfonia da Requiem in early June 1940. The Japanese government originally accepted the score for performance, but upon further review, found Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem inappropriate because it failed to “express felicitations for the 2,600^th anniversary of our country,” and was “purely a religious music of Christian nature.” Britten was hardly devastated by the rejection. “After all,” he confided to Hawkes, “I have had the (commission) money and spent it…Anyhow, the publicity of having work rejected by the Japanese Consulate for being Christian is a wow.”

The premiere of Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem took place at Carnegie Hall in New York on 29 March 1941, with John Barbirolli conducting the New York Philharmonic. This powerful and moving work is cast in three movements, each inspired by a portion of the text of the Requiem Mass celebrated for the souls of the departed. The pertinent Latin texts and translations are provided below, along with the composer’s own musical analysis of his symphonic piece.



Lacrymosa



Lacrymosa dies illa                        Oh this day full of weeping

Qua resurget ex favilla                when from the ashes arises

Judicandus homo reus;                the guilty man, to be judged;

Huic ergo parce, Deus.                Have mercy upon him, O Lord.

Pie Jesu, Domine,                        merciful Lord Jesus,

Dona eis requiem.                        Grant them rest.



Lacrymosa (Andante ben misurato) – A slow marching lament in a persistent 6/8 rhythm with a strong tonal center on D. There are three main motives: 1) a syncopated, sequential theme announced by the cellos and answered by a solo bassoon; 2) a broad theme, based upon the interval of a major seventh; 3) alternating chords on flute and trombones, outlined by the piano and harps. The first section of the movement is quietly pulsating; the second is a long crescendo leading to a climax based on the first cello theme. There is no pause before:



Dies irae



Dies irae, dies illa                        This day, this day of wrath

Solvet saeclum in favilla,                shall consume the world in ashes,

Teste David cum Sibylla                as prophesied by David and the Sibyl.

Quantus tremor est futurus,                What trembling there shall be

Quando judex est venturus                when the judge shall come

Cuncta stricte discussurus.                To weigh everything strictly.



II. Dies Irae (Allegro con fuoco) – A form of Dance of Death, with occasional    moments of quiet marching rhythm. The dominating motif of this movement is announced at the start by the flutes and includes an important tremolando figure. Other motives are a triplet repeated – note figure in the trumpets, a slow, smooth tune on the saxophone, and a livelier syncopated one in the brass. The scheme of the movement is a series of climaxes of which the last is the most powerful, causing the music to disintegrate and to lead directly to:







Requiem aternum



Requiem aternam dona eis,                         Grant them eternal rest, O Lord

Domine,                                        and may perpetual light shine

Et lux perpetua luceat eis.                        Upon them.

Te decet hymnus, Deus,                        Thou shalt have praise in Zion,

In Sion,                                        oh God.

Et tibi redetur votum                                 and homage shall be paid to Thee

In Jerusalem                                        in Jerusalem

Exaudi orationem meam.                        Hear my prayer

Ad te omnis caro veniet                        To Thee all flesh shall come.



III. Requiem aeternam (andante molto tranquillo) – Very quietly, over a background of solo strings and harps, the flutes announce the quiet D – Major tine, the principal motive of the movement. There is a middle section in which the strings play a flowing melody. This grows to a short climax, but the opening tune is soon resumed, and the work ends quietly in a long sustained clarinet note.