Sinfonia da Requiem, Op. 20 for orchestra is a symphony in D major written by Benjamin Britten in 1940 at the age of 26. It was commissioned by Japanese Government in the same year to commemorate the 2,600th anniversary of the Mikado's dynasty. Due to religious reasons and considered as an insult to the emperor, the piece was rejected. The premiere eventually took place in New York in March 31, 1941 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under John Barbirolli. A symphony is an extended piece of music usually for orchestra and usually comprised of several movements. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh, OM (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) was a British composer, conductor and pianist. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Mikado is: (jap. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... The New York Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in New York City. ... Sir John (Giovanni Battista) Barbirolli (December 2, 1899 - July 29, 1970), was a British conductor and cellist who led the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others. ...

The symphony consists of three movements:

1. Lacrymosa (Andante ben misurato)
2. Dies Irae (Allegro con fuoco)
3. Requiem Aeternam (Andante molto tranquillo)

The headings of the three movements are all taken from the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead but without any direct liturgical associations. Britten described the three movements respectively as "a slow, marching lament", "a form of Dance of Death" and "the final resolution".

The score is written for 3 flutes and piccolo (with alto flute ad lib.), 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets, alto saxophone (ad lib.), 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns (2 of these ad lib.), 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum, cymbals, tambourine, whip, xylophone, 2 harps (second ad lib.), piano, and strings. The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... A Yamaha piccolo. ... This article pertains to the musical instrument. ... See AdLib for the computer sound card manufacturer. ... Modern Oboe The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... A cor anglais The cor anglais, or English horn, is a double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... Alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a family of woodwind instruments invented by Adolphe Sax. ... A Fox Instruments bassoon. ... Drawing of a Contrabassoon The contrabassoon or double bassoon is a larger version of the bassoon sounding an octave lower. ... The horn is a brass instrument that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... - Trumpeter redirects to here. ... A lip-reed aerophone with a predominantly cylindrical bore, the trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... The tuba is the largest of the low-brass instruments and is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the ophicleide. ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ... A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. ... The snare drum or side drum is a tubular drum made of wood or metal with skins, or heads, stretched over the top and bottom openings. ... It is also possible that you want to know about the Cymbalum instrument. ... This article is about musical instrument. ... For other uses, see Whip (disambiguation). ... Xylophone in Bali 1937 The xylophone (from the Greek meaning wooden sound) is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia (Nettl 1956, p. ... The harp is a stringed instrument which has its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. ... A grand piano A piano is a keyboard instrument, which is widely used in western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment, and also as a convenient aid to composing and rehearsal. ... A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. ...

Normal duration of the whole symphony is around 20 minutes.

External links

• Program note written for the National Symphony Orchestra's performance in the John F. Kennedy Centre