Victoria's Requiem
Thursday 19 March 2026, 19:30 – 21:30
St Botolph's Church [ map ]
Bishopsgate
London EC2M 3TL
Orlando Chamber Choir
Greg Skidmore, guest director
Orlando Chamber Choir celebrates Tomás Luis de Victoria's extraordinary Officium defunctorum, written for the funeral of his employer, the Dowager Empress Maria, who died in Madrid in 1603. The composition feels like the Requiem for an age. Not only is it considered one of the last great works of the Renaissance, it also marks the end of Spain's Golden Century - and it is De Victoria's last and finest published work. The plainsong melodies are woven into the six-part polyphony to create a refined composition of passionate conviction, glowing with spiritual serenity – similar to, yet centuries apart from the contemporary works by John Tavener, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Arvo Pärt that complete the programme.
