Sequentia cyclica
Sequentia cyclica super "Dies irae" ex Missa pro defunctis, commonly known as Sequentia cyclica, is a piano composition by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji. Written between 1948 and 1949, it is a set of 27 variations on the medieval sequence Dies irae and is widely considered one of Sorabji's greatest works. With a duration of about eight hours, it is one of the longest piano pieces of all time.
History[edit]
Background and composition[edit]
The Gregorian chant Dies irae, the text of which has traditionally been attributed to Thomas of Celano, a 13th-century Italian friar, attracted Sorabji throughout his life.[1] It was used in ten of his works, including two variation sets.[2] The first of these, Variazioni e fuga triplice sopra "Dies irae" per pianoforte (1923–26), is a work Sorabji became dissatisfied with, writing in a 1930 letter to Erik Chisholm, "I shall probably indeed I am seriously thinking of destroying Dies Irae—I have been looking on it with a sour cold eye and I don't think really, it pleases me any more ... and write an entirely new work thereon later."[3]
It has usually been accepted that Sorabji began work on Sequentia cyclica in 1948, although Marc-André Roberge's catalogue of Sorabji's works states it was started before January 1948. The work was completed on 27 April 1949.[4] In a letter written shortly after, Sorabji told Chisholm that he finished it during his third attack of malaria.[5]