John Rutter is an extremely significant figure in choral music, and his 1985 Requiem is one of his most widely performed works. Despite this popularity, it has yet to be analyzed in a rigorous academic capacity. Requiem is a harmonically rich and sophisticated work, and said lack of previous analysis represents a gap in theoretical research. This thesis analyzes Requiem for significant harmonic structures and idiomatic compositional techniques and applies those techniques in an original composition. Subtopics of note included harmonic non-functionality, modulations, and orchestration. The original work is comprised of two movements for choir and piano respectively titled “Requiem Aeternam” and “I Heard a Voice from Heaven”.
","abstract_html":"<p>John Rutter is an extremely significant figure in choral music, and his 1985 Requiem is one of his most widely performed works. Despite this popularity, it has yet to be analyzed in a rigorous academic capacity. <em>Requiem</em> is a harmonically rich and sophisticated work, and said lack of previous analysis represents a gap in theoretical research. This thesis analyzes <em>Requiem</em> for significant harmonic structures and idiomatic compositional techniques and applies those techniques in an original composition. Subtopics of note included harmonic non-functionality, modulations, and orchestration. The original work is comprised of two movements for choir and piano respectively titled “Requiem Aeternam” and “I Heard a Voice from Heaven”.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Walsh, Marguerite"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Music","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"School of Music","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Stephen Lias","Michael Murphy","Benjamin Morris"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z","subjects":["Music Theory","Harmonic Analysis","Non-functional Harmony","Requiem","John Rutter","Sacred Music","Composition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/629","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Stephen Lias","Michael Murphy","Benjamin Morris"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Walsh, Marguerite"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-08-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Music"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Music"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Music Theory","Harmonic Analysis","Non-functional Harmony","Requiem","John Rutter","Sacred Music","Composition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/629"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["John Rutter is an extremely significant figure in choral music, and his 1985 Requiem is one of his most widely performed works. Despite this popularity, it has yet to be analyzed in a rigorous academic capacity. Requiem is a harmonically rich and sophisticated work, and said lack of previous analysis represents a gap in theoretical research. This thesis analyzes Requiem for significant harmonic structures and idiomatic compositional techniques and applies those techniques in an original composition. Subtopics of note included harmonic non-functionality, modulations, and orchestration. The original work is comprised of two movements for choir and piano respectively titled “Requiem Aeternam” and “I Heard a Voice from Heaven”.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Idiomatic Compositional Techniques in John Rutter's Requiem"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Stephen Lias","Michael Murphy","Benjamin Morris"],"dc:creator":["Walsh, Marguerite"],"dc:date.available":["2025-08-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["John Rutter is an extremely significant figure in choral music, and his 1985 Requiem is one of his most widely performed works. Despite this popularity, it has yet to be analyzed in a rigorous academic capacity. Requiem is a harmonically rich and sophisticated work, and said lack of previous analysis represents a gap in theoretical research. This thesis analyzes Requiem for significant harmonic structures and idiomatic compositional techniques and applies those techniques in an original composition. Subtopics of note included harmonic non-functionality, modulations, and orchestration. The original work is comprised of two movements for choir and piano respectively titled “Requiem Aeternam” and “I Heard a Voice from Heaven”.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/629"],"dc:subject":["Music Theory","Harmonic Analysis","Non-functional Harmony","Requiem","John Rutter","Sacred Music","Composition"],"dc:title":["Idiomatic Compositional Techniques in John Rutter's Requiem"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Music"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Music"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:49Z"}