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
County of the City of Coventry County of the City of Coventry The County of the City of Coventry was a former county corporate of England which existed between 1451 and 1842. The county corporate covered an area of Warwickshire of around and contained the city of Coventry and the surrounding villages of Ansty, Asthull, Biggin, Binley, Caludon, Exhall, Foleshill, Harnell, Horwell, Radford, Stoke, Styvechale, Walsgrave, Wood End and Wyken. During the medieval period Coventry, a town in Warwickshire, became an important city. King Henry VI granted Coventry the status of county corporate, largely to reward the city for the support it had given him. This