The last movement is my favorite - the "blessed are the dead" is such a heart-wrenching and bittersweet dissonance, and the way the second (harmonically varied) instance of it recontextualizes the bass pedal tone is amazing. This piece is one of those "sit in a dark room and think about my life" pieces - there is something in the sound beyond the words that speaks to me in a very profound way.
This is THE most rewarding piece to learn, perform and understand. The directness of the a cappella setting is so much closer to the audience than the Hymnus Paradisi, which is phenomenal, though relatively impersonal. It takes amazing musicianship to perform well.
@@JoshuaGawley my favorite part is the one starting just before it at around 6:25. It just has harmonies that don't really make sense until you listen to them.
I'm not a fan of Howells. I struggle to engage with the music he is putting across and think sometimes the clashes sound awful. This Requiem is an odd one. It's very mysterious and haunting and knowing that he wrote it after the death of his son brings a sadness to it. I'm not sure I 'like' it, but I certainly don't dislike it.
