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
Bishop of Coventry night of 14 November 1940 and remains today as a dignified ruin adjacent to the new cathedral building consecrated on 25 May 1962. The 8th Bishop of Coventry was Colin Bennetts, who retired on 31 January 2008. Christopher Cocksworth was ordained and consecrated as the 9th Bishop of Coventry on 3 July 2008 at Southwark Cathedral. He was enthroned and received into the diocese during a service at Coventry Cathedral on 1 November 2008. Cocksworth was previously Principal of Ridley Hall, part of the Cambridge Federation of Theological Colleges. Bishop of Coventry The Bishop of Coventry is the Ordinary of