Commissioned by the Bourbon family to honor the memory of Louis XVI, this Requiem Mass was first performed in 1816. This is a grandiose work which scholars have compared to Mozart's Requiem. Indeed, Cherubini's composition was hailed as a great accomplishment by a number of major composers, including Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms, and even Cherubini's arch-enemy Berlioz. Premiered throughout Europe in the 1820s to considerable acclaim, this Requiem has been performed fairly frequently, particularly in Germany. While the comparison with Mozart's Requiem may not be far-fetched, there are fundamental differences between the two works. First of all, there are no soloists in Cherubini's work; secondly, Cherubini's orchestration, which reflects the development of orchestration technique since Mozart's death, features truly Romantic brass and percussion effects. The Introitus and Kyrie are slow and gloom-laden, with the orchestra balanced toward the cellos and bassoons. The brief Graduale, however, is almost tender compared to the opening section. This moment of peace is soon shattered by the brass fanfare and ominous tam-tam stroke that introduce the initially frantic Dies Irae. It should be noted that these characteristic effects consisting of new brass and percussion timbres greatly influenced the arch-Romantic Berlioz, who delighted in excoriating Cherubini for his "traditionalism." The Dies Irae music soon subsides, but remains constantly troubled through such devices as soft but frantic falling phrases in the strings underlying steadier choral passages. Alternately laconic and theatrical, this movement also anticipates moments in Verdi's Requiem. In contrast, the smoothly assertive Offertorium seems almost confident. Its centerpiece and conclusion are grand fugues on the words "Quam olim Abrahae" ("Which Thou didst promise to Abraham"). The tiny yet powerful Sanctus provides a brief moment of light to show the way to Cherubini's restrained setting of Pie Jesu. This leads to an Agnus Dei that begins in deep mourning, builds very slowly to a brief tumultuous climax, recedes into a long, steady, low-key plea for eternal peace, and gradually fades away.



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