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
History of Coventry and Willenhall areas of the city in May 1992 after gangs of local youths clashed with the police. No further car production has taken place in Coventry since December 2006. However, motor production in the city still exists today in the form of the LTI (London Taxis International, formerly Carbodies) production plant in Holyhead Road, which employs 450 people and manufactures the popular "black cab", the current model being the TX4 which replaced the TXII in 2006. The world-famous FX4 black cabs were manufactured in Coventry from 1959 to 1994. Coventry's famous medieval "Three Spires" belonging to St. Michael's, Holy