Requiem c-moll

Luigi Cherubini’s c-minor Requiem was written in 1816 as a commission of the French King Louis XVIII, who had just ascended the throne after the definitive defeat of Napoleon. With this work, the king wanted to commemorate Louis XVI, his older brother, who had been executed in 1793. The first performance took place at the Cathedral of St. Denis on 16 January 1817. The Requiem then quickly became known throughout Europe and was heard, for example, at the funeral of Ludwig van Beethoven in Vienna in 1827. It is worth noting that, in keeping with the occasion, virtuoso solo vocal parts were eschewed and the brighter instrumental colors muted: the flutes have been entirely eliminated, the violins, oboes and clarinets are missing in the introductory Introitus, and the subsequent Graduale is set entirely for the lower stringed instruments.