Berlioz: Requiem (SACD, RCO)

Berlioz composed his Requiem at the request of a French government minister to commemorate the soldiers who died in the July Revolution in 1830. The Requiem would become one of Berlioz’s most popular works, among other things because of its imaginative instrumentation and gigantic orchestration, including four brass ensembles distributed throughout the hall. The work was also dear to the composer’s own heart. He once said, ‘If someone were to threaten to destroy all my works, I would beg for mercy on behalf of my Grande messe des morts.’