The Requiem is a composition for soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, chorus, and orchestra by the American composer John Harbison.
Its world premiere was given by the soprano Christine Brewer, mezzo-soprano Margaret Lattimore, tenor Paul Groves, baritone Jonathan Lemalu the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Bernard Haitink on March 6, 2003.
He composed much of the "Introit" over the course of 1985, but didn't return to the work until 1991, when he wrote a piece that would become the basis for the "Sanctus" on a commission from The Rivers School Conservatory.
Later, in 1995, Harbison was one of thirteen international composers commissioned by Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart to write a movement for the collective Requiem of Reconciliation to commemorated the victims of World War II.
Harbison was assigned the "Recordare" section (then titled "Juste judex"[4]), which he based on musical ideas he had earlier developed for the "Introit."
The composer wrote, "I wanted a sense of ancient inheritance to inhabit my setting: a ritual steeped in the inevitability of death – gradually moving toward consolation and acceptance."
"[5] The music was also praised by Ellen Pfeifer of The Wall Street Journal[6] and Bernard Holland of The New York Times, who wrote, "There is more to this piece than simply medievalism revised, but one feels in it a chill of old churches, and this creates the overriding impression.