Requiem in C minor

Luigi Cherubini

Lawrence V. McCrobie
Lawrence V. McCrobie Requiem in C minor Luigi Cherubini

Requiem in C minor
Luigi Cherubini
Classical era piece [c1860- c.1920] the Pines of Rome is a Symphonic poem that was written in 1924 by Italian
composer Ottorino Respighi as part of a “Roman triliogy”; the Pines of Rome is the second composition of the
trilogy.

Characteristic of the period:

This new musical style coincided with the Age of Enlightenment, a time of radical change in social values focused on human
rights and freedom of religion. Its architectural style was reminiscent of ancient Rome and Greece - hence the term
‘Classical’.

Orchestras went through great changes: harpsichord or organ were no longer their musical foundation and wind instruments
such as the horn, trumpet, clarinet, flute and oboe joined the strings to create a new, distinctive sound.

The orchestral set-up led to the era’s most important type of music, the symphony. It developed rapidly at the beginning of
the era, moving from a standard, strict three-movement format with a quick opening, a slow middle movement and a quick one
to finish, to become an expansive four-movement vehicle for orchestral expression.

Along with the orchestra came the string quartet, consisting of two violins, a viola and a cello. The works are themselves
called ‘string quartets’ and follow a standard, four-movement format reminiscent of the symphony.

The piano was also introduced during this period. The most important solo pieces of the Classical era were sonatas, written
for any solo instrument but most notably composed for the piano.

The Classical era was dominated by its two greatest composers, Haydn and Mozart, who worked in Vienna. Haydn
composed fantastic choral, operatic, orchestral and instrumental music - but the symphonies were his greatest achievement.

In the last years of the 18th century came Beethoven, who started writing music in the style inherited from Mozart and
Haydn. He eventually outgrew it, and split apart the Classical style at the seams, marking the dawn of the Romantic
era in music.

General features of the period:

The Baroque era witnessed the creation of a number of musical genres which would maintain a hold on composition for
years to come, yet it was the Classical period which saw the introduction of a form which has dominated instrumental
composition to the present day: sonata form. With it came the development of the modern concerto, symphony, sonata,
trio and quartet to a new peak of structural and expressive refinement. If Baroque music is notable for its textural intricacy,
then the Classical period is characterised by a near-obsession with structural clarity.

The seeds of the Classical age were sown by a number of composers whose names are now largely forgotten such as
Schobert and Honnauer (both Germans largely active in Paris), as well as more historically respected names, including
Gluck, Boccherini and at least three of Johann Sebastian Bach’s sons: Carl Phillip Emmanuel, Wilhelm Friedmann and
Johann Christian (the so-called ‘London’ Bach). They were representative of a period which is variously described as
rococo or galante, the former implying a gradual move away from the artifice of the High Baroque, the latter an entirely
novel style based on symmetry and sensibility, which came to dominate the music of the latter half of the 18th century
through two composers of extraordinary significance: Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Compositional Background:
Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor (1816) was one of the most highly regarded sacred works of its time, often
compared in its solemnity to Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, and admired by Beethoven, Schumann, and Brahms.
Composed for the belated obsequies in 1817 for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and performed 10 years later at
Beethoven’s funeral, this Requiem is conservative in style; modest in its scoring for choir, orchestra, and continuo; and
almost subdued in its lack of vocal solos and theatrical devices (except for the brass fanfares and tam-tam crash at the
opening of the Dies Irae).
Lawrence V. McCrobie Requiem in C minor Luigi Cherubini

Additional Information on Musical period:

The music of the Classical period is characterized by homophonic texture, or an obvious melody with accompaniment. These new melodies tended
to be almost voice-like and singable, allowing composers to actually replace singers as the focus of the music. Instrumental music therefore quickly
replaced opera and other sung forms (such as oratorio) as the favorite of the musical audience and the epitome of great composition. However, opera
did not disappear: during the classical period, several composers began producing operas for the general public in their native languages (previous
operas were generally in Italian).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s compositions characterized music of the classical era.

Along with the gradual displacement of the voice in favor of stronger, clearer melodies, counterpoint also typically became a decorative flourish,
often used near the end of a work or for a single movement. In its stead, simple patterns, such as arpeggios and, in piano music, Alberti bass
(an accompaniment with a repeated pattern typically in the left hand), were used to liven the movement of the piece without creating a confusing
additional voice. The now-popular instrumental music was dominated by several well-defined forms: the sonata, the symphony, and the concerto,
though none of these were specifically defined or taught at the time as they are now in music theory. All three derive from sonata form, which is both
the overlying form of an entire work and the structure of a single movement. Sonata form matured during the Classical era to become the primary
form of instrumental compositions throughout the 19th century.

The early Classical period was ushered in by the Mannheim School, which included such composers as Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter, Carl
Stamitz, and Christian Cannabich. It exerted a profound influence on Joseph Haydn and, through him, on all subsequent European music. Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart was the central figure of the Classical period, and his phenomenal and varied output in all genres defines our perception of the
period. Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Schubert were transitional composers, leading into the Romantic period, with their expansion of existing
genres, forms, and even functions of music.

Composition Understood; a generalization:

Luigi Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor (1816) was a ceremonial work commissioned by the restored French
monarchy (1815–1830) for the commemoration of the beheading of King Louis XVI. Cherubini’s setting
quickly became the requiem of choice performed at funerals and commemorations of French public figures
throughout the first half of the nineteenth century. Its stature as a composition of first-rate craftsmanship
also took it to music festivals and concert halls all over Europe. Felix Mendelssohn, for instance, recognized
Cherubini’s setting as one of the most performed requiems of his age, second only to Mozart’s Requiem.
Beethoven remarked that if he were to write a requiem, Cherubini’s setting would be a model.
Cherubini’s setting represents an important milestone in the history of the requiem as a Romantic genre. The
nineteenth-century witnessed the transformation of the requiem from a liturgical piece to a large-scale concert
piece. As requiems found their place in the concert hall, musical elements outside of the church style also found
expression in this genre now bridging sacred and secular realms. One trend that is less recognized, although
it is highlighted in the case of Cherubini’s C Minor Requiem, is the politicization of the genre. Cherubini’s
setting is one of the first symphonic requiems to take on political significance, to be followed by a long list of
compositions in the genre such as settings by Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, and Brahms.

Second, the performance history of the work highlights conservative and modernizing tendencies during the
Restoration. Cherubini has been regarded as a conservative and pedantic composer, largely due to Berlioz’s
journalistic jibes, as well as Cherubini’s affiliation with the monarchy and the Conservatoire. Likewise, the
Restoration has traditionally been viewed by historians as a setback to the modernizing and secularizing
trajectory begun by the French Revolution, and thus has long been somewhat eclipsed in the study of
nineteenth-century history. A close reading of the Requiem’s musical setting and the details of the ceremonial
occasion at which it was premiered unsettles the assumed conservatism of both the composer and the time
period. Techniques referencing the past, such as counterpoint and canon, are juxtaposed with more progressive
elements, including novel instrumentations and the Romantic approach to thematic development. The C Minor
Requiem highlights the broader conflicted attitudes and sentiments on the supposedly painful past and hopeful
and progressive new orders during the Restoration.
Lawrence V. McCrobie Requiem in C minor Luigi Cherubini
Requiem in C minor- Introitus:
FORM: •Range of the melody is within an octave
•A- B- A’
METER & RHYTHM:
•4/4 meter, constant flow pattern
•longest note is whole, shortest is eighth
MELODY:
•Melodic line is dark blend
•Principal themes never rise into upper register
•Melodic lines are closemelody is either re
Requiem in C minor- Graduale:
FORM: •Melodic line is close in movement
•Short transition of music
METER & RHYTHM:
•In a 3/2 pattern with no changes
•Steady walking pace
•Steady walking bassline
MELODY:
•Melody is always found descending
Requiem in C minor- Dies Irae:
FORM: After a fortissimo call to attention from the horns, trumpets, and
•composed of 10 seperate parts
METER & RHYTHM:
•Set in a cut time, duple meter- changes to 4/4
•Pulsating 8th not underlying rhythm
•Pulse passed through and found in all parts
MELODY:
•Melody is rather close in range
•Overall range is approx 2 octaves
•Richly flowing melody figure
Requiem in C minor- Offertorium:
FORM: repeated.
•a triple fugue
METER & RHYTHM:
•4/4 Andante tempo-Second half in 3/4
•Dotted rhythms are introduced
•Syncopation begins to be used in this section
MELODY:
•Melodic is close in range
•Melody is primarily stepwise motion
•Many times voices are singing same pitches
•High winds and violins are omitted
•Melody found in divided viola part
Choosing to create a special, dark, veiled sound
world for the opening movement. Cherubini
completely omits violins, as well as all the high
wind instruments. This is music of cello and bassoon
melodies, brightened only by the burnished colors
of the violas, divided into two parts. The voices
never rise into the upper reaches of their registers.
•Melodic range is within Octave and a half
Cherubini’s short second movement, the Gradual,
scored just for chorus and low strings, with no
winds at all, restricts our view even farther as the
music begins to open up; it is like the drawing of
a curtain to prepare for the blast of the Dies Irae.
trombones, he writes a single, isolated crash from the tam-tam.
From there, the Dies Irae movement begins to unfold. The Dies Irae
is a poem of eighteen powerful sentences. Most composers divide
it into several separate movements—ten, in the case of Verdi’s
Requiem Mass. But, for Cherubini, it is a single large canvas of
masterly overall design and vivid individual details, each an urgent
response to the text—a grand brass climax at “Tuba mirum,” the
sounding of the last trumpet in “Morsstupebit.” Everything from
the tam-tam crash forward is carefully calculated, brilliantly
paced, and dramatically apt. As he moves toward the last lines,
Cherubini gradually relaxes the musical tension until he arrives at
a magnificent, spacious adagio for “Lacrymosa.” This movement
alone gives a sense of his skill in matching drama and music.
•Sublte color in the melody, structural clarity
The Offertory, another large movement in interwoven
chapters, is crowned by a display of contrapuntal writing
as impressive as any in the literature, before or since—a
triple fugue on three subjects at “quam olim Abrahae.”
Lawrence V. McCrobie Requiem in C minor Luigi Cherubini
Requiem in C minor- Sanctus:
FORM: •Close two a 2 octave melodic range
•Through composed [short transition] •Melody is majestic and bold
•Large melodic leaps appear (counter melody)
METER & RHYTHM: •Melodic ornamentation has large leaps
•In Triple meter [3/4]
•Quater to dotted pulse in low strings
•Almost felt as a walking [descending] bassline The Sanctus is thrilling, bold, and majestic

MELODY:
•Melody has a great deal of leaps
•Melody ascends
Requiem in C minor- Pie jesu:
FORM: The delicate Pie Jesu—the dynamic range is piano to
•Transition triple piano—returns to the opening string sonority,
with divided violas and no violins.
METER & RHYTHM:
•In cut time [Larghetto]
•Slow rhythmic flow
MELODY:
•Melody lack violins and high winds
•Divided Viola melodic prescense
•Melody is presented in p to ppp

Requiem in C minor- Agnus Dei:

FORM: MELODY:
•A-B-A-CODA
METER & RHYTHM:
•Set in a duple meter {4/4 - common time]
•No meterical changes
•Dotted rhythms highly present
•Syncopation front and center
•32nd notes appear
•Forward “push” in rythm flow
•Melody appears mostly in descending pattern
•Descending 4 note pattern [melody]
•Range of melody is close/mostly step motion
The final pages of the Agnus Dei are among music’s most magical: the
chorus intones its parting words on a monotone C, over and over, as
the orchestra slowly unwinds through its last cadences. The effect is
hypnotic and unforgettable. It inspired a number of later composers,
including Berlioz, to try something similar, although none ever
surpassed Cherubini’s chilling combination of simplicity and power.

Instrumentation
Four-part mixed chorus, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, three
trombones, tam-tam, timpani, strings.
INTROIT and KYRIE:
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: Eternal rest give to them, O Lord;
et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion;

et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem: and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem:
exaudi orationem meam, O Lord, hear my prayer;
ad te omnis caro veniet. all flesh shall come to Thee.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: Eternal rest give to them, O Lord;
et lux perpetua luceat eis. and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy on us.

Christe eleison. Christ, have mercy on us.
Kyrie eleison. Lord, have mercy on us.
GRADUAL:
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and
et lux perpetua luceat eis in memoria let perpetual light shine upon them.
aeterna erit justus ab auditione mala The memory of the just lives eternally,
non timebit. and he will not fear damnation.

DIES IRAE:
Dies irae, dies illa, Dreaded day, that day of ire donum fac remissionis, Thou, awarding pains condign,
solvet saeclum in favilla: when the world shall melt in fire, ante diem rationis. Mercy’s ear to me incline,
teste David cum Sibylla. told by Sibyl and David’s lyre. ere the reckoning Thou assign.

Quantus tremor est futurus, Fright men’s hearts shall rudely shift, Ingemisco, tamquam reus: I, felon-like, my lot bewail,
quando judex est venturus, as the Judge through gleaming rift culpa rubet vultus meus: suffused cheeks my shame unveil:
cuncta stricte discussurus! comes each soul to closely sift. supplicanti parce Deus. God! O let my prayers prevail.

Tuba mirum spargens sonum Then the trumpet’s shrill refrain Qui Mariam absolvisti, Mary’s soul Thou madest white,
per sepulcra regionum, piercing tombs by hill and plain, et latronem exaudisti, didst to heaven the thief invite;
coget omnes ante thronum. souls to judgment shall arraign. mihi quoque spem dedisti. hope in me these now excite.

Mors stupebit et natura, Death and nature stand aghast, Preces meae non sunt dignae:Prayers o’mine in vain ascend:
cum resurget creatura, as the bodies rising fast, sed tu bonus fac benigne, Thou art good and wilt forefend
judicanti responsura. hie to hear the sentence passed. ne perenni cremer igne. in quenchless fire my life to end.

Liber scriptus proferetur, Then before Him shall be placed, Inter oves locum praesta, When the cursed by shame opprest,
in quo totum continetur, that whereon the verdict’s based, et ab haedis me sequestra, enter flames at Thy behest,
unde mundus judicetur. book wherein each deed is traced. statuens in parte dextra. call me then to join the blest.

Judex ergo cum sedebit, When the Judge His seat shall gain, Confutatis maledictis, Place amid Thy sheep accord,
quidquid latet, apparebit: all that’s hidden shall be plain, flammis acribus addictis, keep me from the tainted horde,
nil inultum remanebit. nothing shall unjudged remain. voca me cum benedictis. set me in Thy sight, O Lord.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?Wretched man, what can I plead, Oro supplex et acclinis, Prostrate, suppliant, now no more,
Quem patronum rogaturus whom to ask to intercede, cor contritum quasi cinis: unrepenting, as of yore,
cum vix justus sit securus? when the just much mercy need? gere curam mei finis. save me, dying, I implore.

Rex tremendae majestatis, Thou, O awe-inspiring Lord, Lacrimosa dies illa, Mournful day! That day of sighs,
qui salvandos salvas gratis, saving e’en when unimplored, qua resurget ex favilla when from dust shall man arise,
salva me, fons pietatis. save me, mercy’s fount adored. judicandus homo reus: stained with guilt his doom to know.

Recordare, Jesu pie,
quod sum causa tuae viae:
ne me perdas illa die.
Quarens me, sedisti lassus:
redemisti crucem passus:
tantus labor non sit cassus.
Juste judex ultionis,
Ah! Sweet Jesus, mindful be, Huic ergo parce Deus. Mercy, Lord, on him bestow.
that Thou cam’st on earth for me, Pie Jesu Domine, Jesus kind! Thy souls release,
cast me not this day from Thee. dona eis requiem. lead them thence to realms of peace.
Amen. Amen.
Seeking me thy strength was spent,
ransoming Thy limbs were rent,
is this toil to no intent?
Lawrence V. McCrobie Requiem in C minor Luigi Cherubini
OFFERTORY:
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae,
libera animas omnium fidelium
defunctorum de poenis inferni,
et de profundo lacu;
libera eas de ore leonis,
ne absorbeat eas tartarus,
ne cadant in obscurum:
sed signifer sanctus Michael
repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam:
quam olim Abrahae promisisti,
et semini ejus.
Hostias et precis tibi Domine
laudis offerimus:
tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
quarum hodie memoriam facimus:
fac eas, Domine, de morte transire
ad vitam.
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti,
et semini ejus.
SANCTUS:
Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Benedictus qui venit in
nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.
PIE JESU:
Pie Jesu, Domine, dona eis
requiem sempiternam.
AGNUS DEI:
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lux aeterna luceat eis Domine:
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine:
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory,
deliver the souls of all the faithful
departed from the pains of hell
and from the bottomless pit;
deliver them from the lion’s mouth,
that hell engulf them not,
nor they fall into darkness,
but let the holy standard-bearer Michael
bring them into that holy light which
Thou once didst promise to Abraham
and his seed.
We offer Thee, O Lord, sacrifices and
prayers of praise;
do Thou accept them for those souls
whom we this day commemorate;
Grant them, O Lord, to pass from
death to that life
which Thou once didst promise to
Abraham and his seed.
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God of Hosts.
The heavens and earth are full of
Thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He who cometh in the name
of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Dearest Lord Jesus, give unto them
eternal rest.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the
sins of the world:
Give unto them rest.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the
sins of the world:
Give unto them rest.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins
of the world:
Give unto them eternal rest.
May eternal light shine upon them,
O Lord,
with Thy saints forever, for Thou
art kind.
Grant them everlasting rest, O Lord;
and let perpetual light shine
upon them.
Lawrence V. McCrobie Requiem in C minor Luigi Cherubini

Additional COmposer and Work Information:

Cherubini, although Italian-born, spent the majority of his career in Paris. There he wrote a large number of operas
mainly in the Neapolitan style but they soon began to seem out of step with the Parisian craze for Italian grand opera.
Consequently Cherubini withdrew from composing for a while. From being a virtually forgotten figure Cherubini’s star
began to shine after the Bourbon restoration to the French throne and in 1816 he was appointed as Surintendant de la
musique for the Royal family. Cherubini became arguably the most influential man in French music with his appointment
as director of the Paris Conservatoire in 1822; a post he held until his death twenty years later.

In 1809 Cherubini had been buoyed by the success of his Mass in F which was an unexpected commission by the Prince
of Chimay. Cherubini commenced composing a significant amount of sacred choral works including a large number of
motets; several masses and two remarkable requiems. The earlier of the two is a Requiem in C minor for mixed chorus;
completed in 1816. A second Requiem in D minor for male voices was written in 1836 with the intention of being
performed at Cherubini’s own funeral.

The Abbey Church of Saint Denis was the established resting place of the kings of France for several centuries. During
the Revolution the royal tombs in Saint Denis suffered considerable desecration. In 1815 the partial remains of Louis
XVI and Marie Antoinette were recovered from a public cemetery and brought to Saint Denis for reburial in the crypt.
Cherubini’s Requiem in C minor was premiered in 1817 at a memorial concert in the Saint Denis crypt to commemorate
the anniversary of the guillotining of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The Requiem in C minor was a great success and
soon established a wide circulation in Europe; it was even played at Beethoven’s funeral in 1827. The Requiem in C minor
does not employ soloists. It is scored for four-part chorus, orchestra and basso continuo. In the manner of Beethoven with
his Mass in C major (1807) Cherubini avoids breaking the various sections of the mass down into individual movements.
In addition many people have remarked on the musical debt that Cherubini here owes to the style of Mozart.

Other comments on this Composition:

The first performance of Cherubini’s C-minor Requiem took place on January 21, 1817 under unusual
circumstances. It was performed in a crypt below the abbey church of St. Denis, where many of the French
kings lay buried, including victims of the French revolution, namely Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The
government of King Louis XVIII had commissioned the Requiem specifically for this purpose, and despite the
solemnity of the occasion, the music quickly achieved a measure of popularity, and was praised by the likes of
Beethoven, Berlioz, and Schumann. By the end of the century, however, Cherubini’s Requiem had slipped into
oblivion – along with much of his other music – only to be “rediscovered” in the LP era.

The music looks both backward and forward. In 1805, Cherubini introduced Mozart’s own Requiem to Paris,
and so it is not surprising that Cherubini’s Requiem, while it anticipates the Romantic era in many ways, has
much in common with Mozart’s, down to the fugal treatment of “Quam olim Abrahae” in the Offertorium. At
the same time, Cherubini’s Requiem is appealingly small-scaled, almost intimate. In particular, the first two
sections have a conciliatory tenderness reminiscent of Fauré’s Requiem, although that masterpiece would not
be composed for several decades yet. How many musicians could be accommodated in the initial performance
space? Not many, one guesses, and so the work’s economy – there are no vocal soloists, after all – probably was
dictated by circumstances as much as by Cherubini’s artistic preferences.

It is appropriate, then, that this new recording uses a modest number of musicians: less than 40 instrumentalists
and 23 choristers. Some of the Requiem’s earlier recordings used much larger forces, and while that was
impressive, I think the sincerely devout quality of Cherubini’s music is better served here. Furthermore, Boston
Baroque is a period performance ensemble, and the wiry sound of the strings, the nasal winds, and the cutting
brass supply all the drama that is needed. The performance doesn’t lack passion, though: hear the “Dies Irae”
and the hairs should rise on the back of your neck.