Sacred work · 1987 · Score revised in 2025
For soloists, mixed choir and instrumental ensemble.
Commissioned by the city of Bayeux
In 1986, the mayor of Bayeux, Mr Lecarpentier, commissioned a Requiem from Gérard Legoupil to commemorate the nine-hundredth anniversary of the death of William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy and King of England.
He wanted a powerful work with martial undertones that would speak to music lovers and newcomers alike. The premiere took place on 4 December 1987, conducted by Jean-Louis Basset, before an audience of nearly two thousand.
Accessible and melodic, the work pays tribute to great Requiem composers — Gilles, Mozart, Verdi and Fauré — while retaining its own voice. The key of D minor gives it unity and a connection to Gregorian chant.
Three soloists — haute-contre (high tenor), tenor and bass — a large mixed choir including a small women's choir, and an instrumental ensemble: flute, oboe and cor anglais, bassoon, two trumpets, horn, trombone, two double basses and three timpani.
From 2017, the haute-contre part may be sung by a mezzo-soprano. The original twenty sections were regrouped into eighteen; some choral passages were added or revised, along with the opening of the Lux aeterna for the soloists. The definitive 2026 version adds a B-flat clarinet.
Photographs & programmes
Milestones
Premiered in Bayeux with Alain Aubin, Hervé Lamy and Philippe Kahn, the Ensemble à vent de Normandie, the Orphéon de Bayeux and the Ensemble Vocal Guillaume le Conquérant, conducted by Jean-Louis Basset. The work was also performed at Rouen Cathedral, conducted by Gérard Legoupil.
Ensemble à vent de Normandie: André Bellis, Philippe Bertemont, Jean-Michel Douillard, Fabrice Leconte, Valérie Petite, Odile Renault, Vincent Requent, Pierre Turpin and Philippe Wojtacek.
On 6 June in Bayeux, for the 45th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. On 28 October at the Église Notre-Dame du Vœu in Cherbourg, for the centenary of La Presse de la Manche.
In Arromanches, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Normandy landings. Soloists: Françoise Verdier and Brenda Lefebvre, with the Gunaïkes vocal and instrumental ensemble.
In Bayeux, at St Patrice Church. Soloists: Laeticia Suzanne and Véronique Legoupil, with the Gunaïkes vocal and instrumental ensemble. A new version for two soloists and women's choir, with different orchestration.
Le Fuilet, Saint-Martin Church, 18 November; Avrillé, Saint-Gilles Church, 19 November; Châteaubriant, Saint-Nicolas Church, 2 December; Cholet, Saint-Pierre Church, 3 December.
Catherine Decaen, mezzo-soprano; Hervé Lamy, tenor; Frédéric Caton, bass. Ensemble Instrumental Circonstance, Ensemble Vocal Mosaïque and the Méli-Mélo choir from Châteaubriant, prepared by Catherine Diamin. Conducted by Gérard Legoupil. Vents rebelles was performed in the first half.
In Muzillac, at the Salle du Vieux Couvent on 29 November, and in Vannes, at St Gwen Church on 30 November.
Soloists: Delphine Mégret, Bastien Rimondi and Arnaud Richard. The Mosaïque choir from Le Fuilet (Maine-et-Loire) and the Muzillac-Questembert choir (Morbihan), with the Musiques pour faire plaisir instrumental ensemble.
Recordings
Excerpts from the 2017 concerts and the 1987 premiere. Amateur recordings.
Introit — opening
Instrumental introduction, bass solo, then a cappella choir.
Tuba mirum
Trumpets, tenor and choir.
Confutatis
Choir, then mezzo-soprano.
Hostias
Men's choir, tenor–bass duet, then mixed choir.
Lux aeterna — opening
Three soloists, then choir.
Introit — ending
Brass, bass–tenor duet, then choir.
Kyrie
Haute-contre, tenor and choir.
Mors stupebit
Bass, small women's choir and bass–tenor duet.
Inter oves
Three soloists.
Agnus Dei
Dialogue between the haute-contre and the choir.