War Requiem - Britten - 1. Requiem Aeternam

Question 1

How do the orchestra begin the movement?

Answer 1

It begins with the Tuba and a Piano note playing a low A, before the rest of the orchestra play on top a fragment of the main orchestral theme of the movement.

Question 2

Which voices begin the movement and what do they do?

Answer 2

The sopranos sing ‘Requiem, requiem aeternam’, this is then overlapped by the Tenors. They sing a monotone F#. It begins pianissimo and then diminuendos to an even quieter volume to represent dying.

Question 3

Describe the main orchestral theme of the movement.

Answer 3

An eerie set of of semiquaver quintuplets, always played in homophony by the orchestra. The dynamics swell a lot to give it a sense of weakness and a lack of stability.

Question 4

What role does percussion have throughout the movement?

Answer 4

There are two bells - C and F#, the two main notes of the movement which are the tritone interval. The bells only appear in the sections with the full choir. The bells link to the Latin text as they both have religious connotations.

Question 5

What happens when the monotone ‘Requiem aeternam’ melody is repeated?

Answer 5

It is sung in the Altos and Basses instead of Tenors and Sopranos. The 3rd time it is repeated, the line is extended to ‘Requiem aeternam dona eis’, with piano dynamics instead of pianissimo now.

Question 6

What is the significance of the word ‘Domine’ in figure 1?

Answer 6

The decreasing dynamic, as well as representing death, seems to be questioning a God that would allow so many people to die in war.

Question 7

What is the significance of the line ‘et lux perpetua’?

Answer 7

This translates to ‘perpetual light’, which ironically gets a darker feel as it is passed down through the voices, getting lower each time.

Question 8

How does the orchestra give a sense of emptiness in figure 2?

Answer 8

The low strings are all playing in higher clefs, which creates a feeling of uneasiness. They then swell to fortissimo which emphasises the uneasy feel.

Question 9

How do the choir emphasise the uneasy feel created by the orchestra in figure 2?

Answer 9

They sing in homophony, with both C’s and F#’s on the words ‘Requiem aeternam’, to create a dissonant feel.

Question 10

What happens to figure 2’s dynamics as it leads towards figure 3?

Answer 10

After reaching fortissimo in the orchestra, the dynamics continually decrease until they reach PPP.

Question 11

What comes in at figure 3?

Answer 11

The boys choir.

Question 12

What is the significance of the Organ accompaniment in figure 3?

Answer 12

It represents a funeral.

Question 13

What scale features in the boys choirs melody?

Answer 13

The whole tone scale.

Question 14

What melodic feature do the boys choir sing on the word ‘Sion’?

Answer 14

They sing an appoggiatura, falling from a G# to an F#.

Question 15

What feature in the accompaniment contrasts against the whole tone melody?

Answer 15

The organ is playing standard chords underneath. However, it is also playing the melody of the boys choir in unison with them. This creates an unusual timbre.

Question 16

What is interesting about the start and end notes of each phrase in the boy choirs melody?

Answer 16

It will always start on a C and end on an F#, or vice versa.

Question 17

What do the Violins play as part of the accompaniment for the boys choir section?

Answer 17

They play C pedals for the question phrases and F# pedals for the answer phrases.

Question 18

What happens at figure 7?

Answer 18

The boys choir section ends and the choir from the introduction return, but now split into female voices/male voices.

Question 19

What is the performance direction for the F# pedal in the Violins at the end of the boys choir section?

Answer 19

‘Dying away’.

Question 20

At the last feature of the words ‘Requiem aeternam’ in the choir, what do the bells do differently?

Answer 20

As a development of the dissonance, both the C and the F# bells play together.

Question 21

What happens at figure 9?

Answer 21

The tenor solo begins.

Question 22

What is the orchestral accompaniment to the tenor solo?

Answer 22

The harp plays semiquaver quintuplets, building upon the orchestral theme earlier. It plays the notes C and Gb.

Question 23

What word painting is used on the word ‘die’ in figure 9?

Answer 23

The word rises a semitone from a D to an Eb and crescendos for a powerful dissonance. There are also lots of dotted rhythms in the orchestra that enter here, creating a militant sense.

Question 24

What word painting is used on the word cattle in figure 9?

Answer 24

The fall of a major 7th sounds uneasy as it is nearly an octave but not quite. This is to emphasise the phrase ‘these men who die as cattle’.

Question 25

How is an uneasy feeling created before figure 11 with the line ‘Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle’

Answer 25

Dissonance between the 2 Violin parts which maintain the military rhythm but only play C’s and Bb’s. Accentuation on the word rattle. The combination of the Oboe and Bassoon create a harsh timbre, playing the same military rhythm after the word rattle.

Question 26

Describe the treatment of the word ‘prayers’ during the tenor solo at figure 11.

Answer 26

A 4 note melisma sways backwards and forwards between the notes Gb and C. This tritonal movement suggests that the prayers haven’t been answered.

Question 27

Describe the treatment of the word ‘wail’ before figure 12.

Answer 27

A distressed chromatic melisma covers 2 bars in 4/4. This plays in homophony with the Flutes and Clarinets which play a major 9th higher.

Question 28

What happens when the tenor sings the word ‘Bugle’?

Answer 28

The Horn plays at this moment in time. The Horn is muted, this creates a much darker sound than a Bugle would.

Question 29

What theme does the Oboe bring back in figure 13 and how does the tenor respond to this?

Answer 29

The Oboe plays the theme of the boys choir, to which the Tenor sings ‘Not in the hands of boys’. After this, the Clarinet repeats the boys choir theme - but a minor 3rd higher than the Oboes played it.

Question 30

What happens to the boys choir theme at figure 15?

Answer 30

The tenor voice augments it.

Question 31

Compare the section that ends the movement to the choir section that began it.

Answer 31

Still lots of emphasis on the notes C and F# from the choir and bells. But by contrast, an interrupted cadence ends the movement with an F major chord.

Question 32

What 20th century compositional techniques does Britten use in this piece?

Answer 32

The metre is inconsistent, the time signature often changes to put more important words on the 1st beat such as ‘Domine’ or ‘prayers’. Marks specific speed for tremolo/trills on score, from fast to slow and vice versa.