The four movements of the work are linked through the use of two contrasting ideas announced at the outset of the first movement: a sombre motif associated with death (Requiem aeternamdonaeisDomine) and a luminous one associated with salvation (et luxperpetualuceateis).The famous plainchant melody of the Dies irae, is utilised as a cuntusfirmus in the complex and dramatic evocation of the Day of Judgement that constitutes the second movement. It is followed by the DomineJesu, an anxious prayer f...

• Requiem