This is an a cappella Requiem, a dramatic dialogue in five parts : for double chorus of mixed voices unaccompanied.

Thompson's dream of composing a cycle based on sacred texts was realized for the first time, and he would benefit from the experience in composing many large works to come: Mass of the Holy Spirit, Requiem, and settings based on Saint Luke: The Nativity and The Passion. This kind of creative challenge was for Thompson the most stimulating for the exercise of his craft.

Conceived within the bounds of liturgical worship are a number of a cappella requiem settings, which display a simplicity and sobriety that recall the aims of the 19th-century Cecilian movement. Principal among these are those of Pizzetti (1922–3), Georges Migot (1953), Priaulx Rainier (1955), Randall Thompson (1958) and Iain Hamilton (1979).

Notable contributors to the 20th-century repertory are Bresgen, Duruflé, Guerrini, Karg-Elert, Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Maliszewski, Sutermeister, Thompson, Thomson, Zandonai and Zanella.