The Duchess of Rothesay attends the premiere performance of requiem composed to mark WW1 centenary

The Duchess of Rothesay (as The Duchess of Cornwall is known as when in Scotland) today attended the premiere performance of a new piece of music which has been composed to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War.

Composer Paul Mealor wrote ‘Requiem: The Souls Of The Righteous’ as a tribute to the fallen of WWI. The 40-minute composition blends the traditional mass for the dead with new poems by Dr Grahame Davies, and features tolling bells and lilting strings throughout.

It was performed for the first time tonight by the National Youth Choir of Scotland and Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Edinburgh, where The Duchess joined an audience at St Mary's Cathedral.

Conducted by Christopher Bell, artistic director of the National Youth Choir of Scotland, the piece was recorded by Classic FM and will be broadcast on Remembrance Sunday.

Funds raised from the concert will be donated to osteoarthritis research at the University of Aberdeen, of which The Duchess is Chancellor.

Professor Mealor said of the Requiem: "It's a big piece and it's a big subject.

"How do you tackle war now, in the 21st century, how do you mark the centenary in a way that is not offensive, that doesn't glorify war?

"The librettist and I, we decided to write a piece that is in essence about peace, for both sides of the conflict, and about reconciliation and the sacrifice that people made so that we can all live in peace.

"It's a great honour that The Duchess of Rothesay has joined us for the premiere. She is a huge supporter of music and of the university, and always adds a wonderful light to events like this because she is always so very easy to talk to and very interested in what people are doing."