Antonín Dvorák’s huge popularity in England was built largely on the success of his Stabat Mater, which he had conducted there in 1884 and 1885. It was well suited to the country’s choral traditions and led eventually to a commission for a Requiem, which was premièred in Birmingham in 1891. Written in ten months during tours to Russia, England and Germany, its success was immediate. Sitting closer to the tradition of Cherubini than Verdi, its tone is compassionate and reflective, devoid of unnecessary drama, and movingly crafted with great sophistication.

Dvorák’s Requiem is a work of humanity and compassion and has attracted a large number of recordings. There is the classic Ancerl-directed one, and others conducted by Neumann, Sawallisch and Kertesz have long dominated the catalog since the 1960s and 70s onwards. Conductor Antoni Wit is a Naxos regular and a renowned interpreter of Slavic music - in the past he has also recorded Dvorák - the Piano Concerto on 8.550896 and the Czech Suite coupled with Hero’s Song on 8.553005.