War Requiem The chamber orchestra accompanies the intimate settings of the English poetry, while soprano, choirs and orchestra are used for the Latin sections; all forces are combined in the conclusion. The Requiem has a duration of approximately 80-85 minutes. The "War Requiem", first performed on 30 May 1962, was commissioned to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which was built after the original fourteenth-century structure was destroyed in a World War II bombing raid. The reconsecration was an occasion for an arts festival, for which Michael Tippett also wrote his opera "King Priam". Britten, a pacifist, was inspired by
Coventry Cathedral The foundation stone, the ten stone panels inset into the walls of the cathedral called the "Tablets of the Word", and the baptismal font were designed and carved by the émigré German letter carver Ralph Beyer. As the cathedral was built on the site of a Benedictine monastery, there has always been a gentle Benedictine influence on the cathedral community. A number of the cathedral staff become third order (lay) Benedictines and there are often cathedral retreats to Burford Priory. Since the opening of the new cathedral in 1962 there has been a gentle evangelical emphasis. This has been strengthened