The work is a collaborative composition of 14 world-renowned composers from 13 countries involved in the Second World War. The 14 composers are: Luciano Berio of Italy (Prolog); Friedrich Cerha of Austria (Introitus and Kyrie); Paul-Heinz Dittrich (Dies Irae); Marek Kopelent (Judex Ergo); John Harbison (Juste Judex); Arne Nordheim of Norway (Confutatis); Bernard Rands (Interludium); Marc-Andre Dalbavie of France (Offertorium); Judith Weir of England (Sanctus); Krzysztof Penderecki of Poland (Agnus Dei); Wolfgang Rihm (Communio I); Alfred Schnittke and Gennadi Roshdestwenski of Russia (Communio II); Joji Yuasa (Libera me); Gyorgy Kurtag of Romania (Epilog).
The requiem memorializes the victims of the war. Created as a tribute to the victims of World War II, the work was commissioned by The Internationale Bachakademie in Stuttgart, Germany, founded by the well-known conductor Helmuth Rilling, who brought together the 14 composers to collaborate on the piece. Collaborative from conception to birth, Requiem of Reconciliation (Requiem der Versöhnung) was first performed by an international ensemble on April 16, 1995. Originally created as music for a Catholic Mass to commemorate the dead, the requiem provides a venue for the living to remember and honor the dead. As such, Requiem of Reconciliation calls for an international and collective remembrance of all the victims of the Second World War. The composers from Italy, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, U.S.A., Norway, England, France, Poland, Russia, Japan, and Romania, once enemies in the war, came together to provide the international community with the memorial.
Each composer was assigned a separate section of the Requiem of Reconciliation. Each worked within the tradition of the Requiem Mass differently, some incorporating Gregorian chant or other themes traditional to the Latin Mass, and some departing from tradition and simply using the general idea and spirit behind a requiem to guide their composition.


♫ 12. Communio II: Lux aeterna
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