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
Grade I listed buildings in Coventry 14th century. The oldest is St. Mary's Priory and cathedral, now a ruin, which was founded in 1043. Several other buildings in this list date from the 12th century. The youngest Grade I listed building in the city is the new cathedral, built in the 1950s to replace the city's second cathedral which was built in the 14th-century and elevated to cathedral status in 1918. Like much of the city centre, the city's second cathedral was almost completely destroyed in the Coventry Blitz in November 1940, and the new cathedral was built next to the ruin, which was preserved. A