Two boy sopranos, counter-tenor, baritone, male choir with boy sopranos and orchestra
Requiem
Ode to Peace
A large-scale requiem by Lera Auerbach for two boy sopranos, counter-tenor, baritone, male choir with boy sopranos and orchestra.
Dedication
Dedicated to the victims of nationalistic movements around the world.
Commission
Commissioned by Stiftung Frauenkirche Dresden and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. Created on the occasion of the anniversary of the destruction of the Frauenkirche.
World Premiere
11 February 2012. Frauenkirche, Dresden — Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.
Movements
1. Post silentium
- Praeludium — Requiem aeternam
2. Psalm 134
- Ein Lied im höhern Chor
3. Vater unser
4. Kyrie
5. Father Judge’s Prayer
6. Psalm 100
7. Die Verheißung
- Apostelgeschichte 2:17–21
8. De profundis
- Psalm 130
9. Gradual — Sh’ma Israel
10. Tuba mirum
11. Mizmor l’David
- Psalm 23
12. Lacrimosa
13. Libera me — Ana Beko’ach
14. In silentium
- Ode to Peace
15. Anrufung der Schutzengel
16. Frieden, wo Gott wohnt
17–18. Amen
Work Information
Abbreviations PDF
Spiritual Architecture
Requiem: Ode to Peace is a monumental interfaith work built from sacred texts, prayers and invocations across languages and traditions. Latin requiem texts stand beside Hebrew, German, English, Greek, Church Slavonic, Arabic, Aramaic, Yiddish and many others.
The work was created for Dresden, a city whose history carries destruction, remembrance and reconciliation in its stones. Its connection to the Frauenkirche gives the requiem both an architectural and spiritual resonance: a ruined church rebuilt as a symbol of peace.
The libretto gathers words of lament, mercy, blessing, judgment, remembrance and hope. Across its eighteen movements, the work moves from silence into prayer, from prayer into witness, and from witness toward a fragile vision of peace.
- Faith / Belief Sacred texts across traditions form the inner language of the work.
- Humankind The requiem speaks beyond any single nation or confession.
- Memory The work gathers histories of loss into a shared act of remembrance and responsibility.
- Peace The final horizon is not only remembrance, but transformation.
Publisher and Materials
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. Score and rental materials are available through Zinfonia. For the full libretto, background, premiere information and related materials, visit the official project site.