DESCRIPTION:
I Requiem - II Kyrie - III Dies irae - IV Tuba mirum - V Lacrimosa - VI Domine Jesu Christe - VII Sanctus - VIII Agnus Dei
This work is dedicated to the victims of the Armenian genocide. During its composition, I was confronted by the problem of differing interpretations of the canonical texts laid down by the Armenian and Roman-Catholic churches. Armenian Christians conceive for example the intonation of the 'Kyrie eleison' according to the Western tradition somehow different from their tradition. I naturally selected the Armenian tradition; I had no wish to copy the rhetoric and gestures of a rite to which I am unaccustomed. I hope that the interlinking of ancient sacred and secular music of Armenia with the Latin text has created something unexpected and even slightly paradox in my music. (Tigran Mansurian)