Looking Back At Requiem: 37 Years On

24 February 2022

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Requiem premiered in New York 37 years ago today.

Requiem is a Latin Requiem Mass that premiered on 24th February 1985 at St. Thomas Church in New York. The composition, created to commemorate his father, William Lloyd Webber, was inspired by an article Andrew read in The New York Times about a Cambodian boy who had to choose between ending the life of his mutilated sister, or being killed himself. Performing and conducting at the piece’s premiere were Sarah Brightman & Paul Miles Kingston and Placido Domingo (Conductor).

To celebrate this composition, here are 7 facts about Requiem that you might not have known:

Requiem received a GRAMMY award in 1986 for Best Classical Contemporary Composition
Requiem was recorded in 5 sessions at Abbey Road Studios
Former Prime Minister Edward Heath was in the audience at the composition’s premiere
The most popular segment of Requiem was the Pie Jesu, which became a hit single and has been recorded by numerous artists such as Katherine Jenkins, Charlotte Church, and Marie Osmond.
Pie Jesu was released as a single in March 1985 and reached number three in the UK charts
Requiem’s accompanying album hit number one in the Billboard charts in the U.S
Requiem was recorded through a tree setup, which is a cluster of directional microphones bunched together and raised above the conductor’s podium.