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
Thomas Coventry, 2nd Earl of Coventry by whom he had one son, Thomas Coventry, 3rd Earl of Coventry. Thomas Coventry, 2nd Earl of Coventry Thomas Coventry, 2nd Earl of Coventry (died August 1710) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Hon. Thomas Coventry from 1685 to 1697 and Viscount Deerhurst until 1699. From 1690 to 1696, he was a deputy lieutenant of Worcestershire. He inherited the earldom from Thomas Coventry, 1st Earl of Coventry in 1699, and was shortly thereafter appointed Custos Rotulorum of Worcestershire, an office he held until his death in 1710. He was also Recorder of Coventry. Coventry