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''Sinfonia da Requiem'', Op. 20, for orchestra is a symphony written by Benjamin Britten in 1940 at the age of 26.〔Britten, Benjamin; Mitchell, Donald, ed.; Reed, Philip, ed. (2004) . University of California Press, page 58. ISBN 0-520-24259-9.〕 It was one of several works commissioned from different composers by the Japanese government to mark the 2,600th anniversary of the founding of the Japanese Empire (taken to be 11 February 660 BCE). The Japanese government rejected the Sinfonia for its use of Latin titles from the Catholic Requiem for its three movements and for its somber overall character, but it was received positively at its world premiere in New York City under John Barbirolli. A performance in Boston under Serge Koussevitzky led to the commission of the opera ''Peter Grimes'' from the Koussevitzky Music Foundations. The Sinfonia is Britten's largest purely orchestral work for the concert hall. It was his first major orchestral work that did not include a soloist and, according to musicologist Peter Evans, marks the peak of his early writing in this idiom. Unlike many of Britten's works from this time, it has remained popular and continues to be programmed on orchestral concerts. ==History== In the early autumn of 1939, Britten was commissioned through the British Consul to write a work for a special festivity by an unspecified great power. Britten agreed in principle to this request, provided that he could dictate the subject and medium used and that he would not be expected to furnish a piece that was in any way jingoistic. Britten eventually learned that the requester was Japan, whose government had requested works by composers from several countries to celebrate the 2600th anniversary of the ruling dynasty.〔 At this point, Japan was engaged fully in its invasion of mainland China but had not yet entered World War II formally or become allied with Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. It had also developed a firm acquaintance with Western classical music. Performing groups trained by Western musicians were numerous. Other Western composers who received commissions included Richard Strauss, who was directed to participate by Joseph Goebbels of the Nazi German government, and French composer Jacques Ibert. Along with the Western composers invited, several Japanese composers participated in the anniversary celebrations.〔 Six months passed before the contract to write this work arrived. By this time, Britten had begun work on the Sinfonia. The delay in receiving the contract left him with only six weeks in which to fulfil the commission. The only work which Britten felt able to complete in time was the Sinfonia. In ''Britten on Music'', the composer wrote that he then approached the local Japanese consul, discussed the work's nature and its suitability for the occasion for which it was intended, and told the consul of the Latin titles for the work's three movements. Britten assumed that all the information he disclosed had been forwarded to the Japanese ambassador. He wrote that he was subsequently notified that the Sinfonia would fulfill the commission satisfactorily. Britten completed the work, submitted it, and for six months heard nothing more about the matter. In the autumn of 1940, Britten was summoned to the Japanese consulate, where he was read a long letter from Viscount Hidemaro Konoye, who served as organizer of the celebration. The Viscount was the younger brother of Prince Fumimaro Konoye, the then prime minister of Japan. In this letter, the Viscount accused Britten, as Britten later wrote, "of insulting a friendly power, of providing a Christian work where Christianity was apparently unacceptable, that the work was gloomy, and so on". This section of the letter read, "We are afraid that the composer must have greatly misunderstood our desire ... (music ) has a melancholy tone both in its melodic pattern and rhythm, making it unsuitable for performance on such an occasion as our national ceremony." With the help of poet and fellow expatriate W.H. Auden, Britten replied in writing, "in as dignified a manner as possible", that his supplying a Christian work was no surprise, as he was a Christian and came from a Christian nation. He denied the alleged glumness of the Sinfonia and any intent of an insult, and said that the delay in receiving the contract had eliminated the possibility of composing a celebratory work within the deadline.〔 Britten submitted this letter to the British consulate, which approved it and forwarded it to Tokyo. This was the last, he wrote, that he heard of the matter. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, relations between Britain and Japan were severed. Although the piece was rejected, the Japanese did not request the return of the commissioning fee. Instead, Viscount Konoye announced that Britten’s score had arrived too late for inclusion in the celebration.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sinfonia da Requiem」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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