Equally there are many melodic idea s in th e Requiem that cannot sig -
nificantly b e relate d t o eithe r figur e ye t whos e existenc e i n n o wa y
impairs the unity of the whole. Onc e again for a unifying principle it is
difficult t o go beyond th e Basevian tinta.
A brief episode in F major ('Te decet hymnus') allows the choru s to
show its paces in flights of imitative a cappella counterpoint , while at th e
same time setting the reprise of Ex. 80 (shorn of its first five bars) in a new
perspective. Already the backclot h has been withdrawn, hintin g a t vast
interior spaces. But it is in the Kyrie, the major-key complement to what
has gone before, that the ful l dimension s of the edific e begin t o disclose
themselves. First there is an increase of motion in the orchestra. Over a
descending patter n o f cell o an d bassoon , clearl y derived fro m (b) , th e
four soloist s successively launch their rockets (Ex . 81)
