Orchestra SATB vocal soloists, SATB choir, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, english horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, harp, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass, organ

SKU: CA.2731500

Composed by Charles Francois Gounod. Edited by Barbara Grossmann. This edition: urtext. Stuttgart Urtext Edition: Urtext Editions; French Sacred Music. German title: Requiem (Gounods Letztes Werk). Sacred vocal music, Requiem, End of the church year, Mourning, death. Full score. CG op. Posth. 136 pages. Duration 35 minutes. Carus Verlag #CV 27.315/00. Published by Carus Verlag (CA.2731500).

ISBN 9790007095604. Key: C major. Language: Latin.

Charles Gounod composed this Requiem under the impact of the death of his four-year-old grandson, Maurice. According to information handed down, while finishing the details of this work he was overtaken by death. It was published posthumously in various constellations by his pupil, Henri Busser, but the only complete version from the pen of Gounod is the version for large orchestra, which is published here for the first time in a critical edition. Gounod's Requiem, unlike many contemporary settings of the Mass of the Dead, is not characterized by darkness and terror. Rather, with all of its trepidation - expressed through a marked chromaticism - an atmosphere of hopeful expectation, of trust in the grace and equity of the divine judge predominates. This confidence finds its expression in the choice of the fundamental key of C major, which is rather unusual for a requiem. The work was given an impressive performance on the occasion of the first anniversary of Gounod's death in the Parisian church of Sainte-Madeleine under the direction of Gabriel Fauré and it was highly acclaimed by the contemporary press.