A Requiem in Our Time

Rautavaara structured the work in four movements:^[3]

1. Hymnus – Festivamente
2. Credo et dubito – Vivace – Grave
3. Dies Irae – Allegro
4. Lacrymosa – Larghetto tranquillo

Two of the four Latin titles correspond to movements of the Requiem mass, to parts of the sequence Dies irae (Day of Wrath), its verses "Dies irae" and "Lacrymosa dies illa" (Tearful will be that day).^[3] Rautavaara scored the work for 13 brass parts (4 trumpets in B-flat, 4 horns in F, 3 trombones, tenor tuba/euphonium and bass tuba), timpani and percussion (bell, cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum and xylophone),^[4] and wrote the dedication "to the memory of my mother".^[3]

The first movement opens with a trombone fanfare accompanied by trumpets. The meter changes often. The second movement, Credo et dubito (Belief and doubt), begins with muted trumpet and muted horn, which play with a staccato motif of sixteenth. At times horns and low brass interrupt by playing a grave chorale. The third movement is sharply articulated. The last movement is the only slow movement with gentle music associated with Requiem (Rest).^[3] The conductor Osmo Vänskä says: "It's a piece I've conducted many times. It has this kind of drama, but it's always speaking to the audience.".^[5] A reviewer of the Australian premiere on 8 April 2011 at Sydney's Opera House noted that the work combines "conciseness and economy of utterance with an opulent and romantic sense of expression".^[6]

A Requiem in Our Time is the title of a 2000 recording of Rautavaara's complete works for brass, performed by the Finnish Brass Symphony conducted by Hannu Lintu.^[7] A Requiem in Our Time is part of a 2003 recording of Rautavaara's works, performed by members of the Helsinki Philharmonic orchestra conducted by Jorma Panula. A reviewer noted that "virtuoso playing is required to achieve speed and pianissimo layering".^[8]