Requiem for Auschwitz - the composition

 

As a contemporary composition in memory of all victims of the Holocaust, the requiem has already been recognized internationally on large stages . Roger Moreno-Rathgeb wrote it under the impression of a personal visit to the memorial of the former concentration camp in Auschwitz. "As soon as I entered the Auschwitz area, the subject of the Requiem started in my head," the composer recalls the beginning of the hour

Works for soli, choir, organ and orchestra that started in 1998, but was to continue over several years until it was completed in 2009 .

 

Creative with interruption

 

"After the first six pieces of the requiem was

my battery is empty, ”he recalls the trauma from Auschwitz, which brought him a writer's block for several years . As a Sinto musician, he came from Roma music in terms of composition and was inspired by the classical music.

 

Latin text template

 

The "Requiem for Auschwitz" uses the text from the Latin Requiem Mass and

sounds in an expressive tonal language with clear stylistic characteristics in the sense of the Roma and Sinti music tradition. The composer, whose compositional work is rooted in the musical experience of traditional Roma and Sinti music, describes the musical result of the requiem as follows: “I am a gypsy and was influenced by classical music.” This is how the requiem works compositionally reversed path compared to many works in the classical tradition of past composers who were inspired by the musical tradition of the Roma and Sinti.

 

occupation

 

The original version, which also sounded at the world premiere in Amsterdam, is written for four soloists (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and baritone), eight-part large choir, organ and large orchestra (65 instrumentalists). For smaller occasions, the composer has created an arrangement that allows performances with a 45-piece orchestra and four vocal soloists (as was the case in Kraków 2019).