François-Joseph FÉTIS, (1784-1871)
Requiem Mass [...] composed for the funeral service
of the Queen of the Belgians, Louise-Marie of Orléans, 1850
Autograph score
28 x 36 cm
Coll. Royal Conservatories Brussels, B - Bc 00126
On 11 October 1850, Queen Louise-Marie of Orléans, the first Queen of the Belgians, died at the age of 38 in Ostend. As court chapel master, François-Joseph Fétis composed a requiem for her funeral. The autograph score specifies a performance at the Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula in Brussels on 14 October, the day the remains arrived in the capital. This was followed by a sober funeral service in Laeken on 17 October.
This work is distinguished by writing dominated by brass instruments and the absence of higher-register instruments such as flutes, oboes, and violins, creating a dark and solemn sound. The work was published in Paris around 1855. The library of the Brussels Conservatoire holds both the published edition and the autograph score.
