The Three Types of Requiems

Composer and blogger Roger Bourland shares a few opinions on Requiems in this blog post.

There are three types of requiems: a Type One requiem is performed by a symphony orchestra with chorus and soloists as a part of an orchestra or chorus’s concert season, that is really just another piece of classical repertoire that commemorates no one in particular; a Type Two Requiem is programmed to celebrate the death of a well known public figure or group (JFK, astronauts, air crashes, bombings, war victims, holocaust victims, AIDS, and so forth); and a Type Three requiem is used in a church service to honor the death of a member of the church.

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The Mozart and Verdi requiems, though not as difficult as the Stravinsky and Ligeti, require a good orchestra, professional soloists, and a talented and dedicated chorus. These requiems can be either Types One or Two. Occasionally, excerpts from the Mozart can be performed with solo organ and be used in a Type Three venue. The problem, in my opinion, is that the common man, especially these days, doesn’t always relate to classical music. For this reason, I hope that composers will consider composing simple, accessible works honoring the dead and consider not using the [Catholic] requiem mass, and have a contemporary poet or lyricist supply the words.

It's a great post . . . thank you, Roger.