War Requiem
The duration of the Requiem is approximately 90 minutes. Though it was commissioned to commemorate composer Hector Berlioz, the piece contains no references to the music of Berlioz. Rouse was more inspired by the "War Requiem" by English composer Benjamin Britten. Similar to the "War Requiem", the composition follows the liturgical requiem text, but additionally incorporates text from other sources, specifically lyrics from European hymns and lines from the poetry of Seamus Heaney, Siegfried Sassoon, Michelangelo, Ben Jonson, and John Milton.