Forrest composed Requiem for the Living on a commission from the Hickory Choral Society in North Carolina, conducted by Don Coleman, for the occasion of the choir's 35th anniversary.
[6] The second movement deals with the transience of everything living, based on texts in Latin not usually part of the Requiem which has a Dies irae section instead.
Vanitas Vanitatis combines texts from two Biblical sources: Ecclesiastes and the Book of Job.
[8] The third movement is Agnus Dei, normally found towards the end of a Requiem, and requesting the Lamb of God to grant mercy and eternal rest.
[6] The fourth movement, Sanctus, which is often found in the center of a Requiem setting, is in ternary form.