Irmin Schmidt Requiem
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. Irmin Schmidt's Requiem opens as a pared-back elegy, a late-period reflection that frames commemoration and environmental grief in patient, meditative soundscapes. Critics point repeatedly to the two-part suite as the record's emotional core, with “Pt. 2” emerging as the most transporting moment thanks to rainfall, haz
The best song is “Pt. 2” for its outstanding treated-piano performance and evocative, doomsday-like low notes.
Shared criticism is still limited across the current review sample.
Best for listeners looking for nature and birdsong and climate change and loss, starting with Pt. 2 and Pt. 1.
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Full consensus notes
Irmin Schmidt's Requiem opens as a pared-back elegy, a late-period reflection that frames commemoration and environmental grief in patient, meditative soundscapes. Critics point repeatedly to the two-part suite as the record's emotional core, with “Pt. 2” emerging as the most transporting moment thanks to rainfall, hazy electronics and treated piano textures, and “Pt. 1” establishing the reflective groundwork with birdcalls, chirps and abstract prepared-piano gestures.
Across three professional reviews the collection earned a 76.67/100 consensus score, and reviewers consistently praised Schmidt's blending of field recordings and avant-garde techniques to evoke loss, impermanence and climate-related warning. Commentators note how natural elements - birdsong, water and rain imagery - are woven into a spare percussive language that can feel mournful one moment and menacing the next, giving the album its elegiac yet urgent tone. Critics agree that the record's strength lies in texture and atmosphere rather than conventional melody, making the two movements, especially “Pt. 2”, the standout tracks.
While some reviews temper admiration with the observation that the album's slow meditative pacing demands patience, the critical consensus frames Requiem as a gripping late work: part commemoration, part environmental fable, and a lucid example of Schmidt's capacity for subtle, affecting composition. Scroll down for full reviews and a track-by-track look if you want deeper reads on whether Requiem is worth listening to in full.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Schmidt’s delicate percussive work is outstanding, combining a gossamer light touch with occasional sharp jabs and flicks.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Pt. 1
Pt. 2
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In the mournful, intimately observed Requiem Irmin Schmidt slips between field recordings and prepared piano to devastating effect; the album’s best tracks are the two movements themselves, especially the second movement where the treated piano is allowed to come to the fore. The opening movement’s twittering meadow gives way to a slow, gurgling pulse that haunts the listener, while “Pt. 2” showcases Schmidt’s delicate percussive touch and those deep, monotonous notes that amount to a doomsday clock. This is a gripping late work that reads as both elegy and warning, and for anyone searching for the best songs on Requiem the album’s two parts - and particularly “Pt. 2” - stand out for their texture and emotional weight.
Key Points
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The best song is “Pt. 2” for its outstanding treated-piano performance and evocative, doomsday-like low notes.
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The album’s core strength is its blend of natural field recordings and prepared piano textures to create a contemplative, climate-minded requiem.
Themes
Re
Critic's Take
Irmin Schmidt's Requiem unfolds slowly and meditatively, and the review makes it clear the best tracks are the two-part suite itself, especially the way Pt. 2 uses rainfall and hazy electronics to become the album's most transporting moment. Paul Simpson's tone is observant and calm, noting how layered prepared piano and natural sounds make “Pt. 2” feel magically mysterious while “Pt. 1” sets the reflective groundwork with chirps, croaks and abstract piano. For listeners searching for the best songs on Requiem, the second part stands out as the album's centerpiece, with the first part earning praise for its patient, contemplative opening and textural invention.
Key Points
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Pt. 2 is the standout for its use of rainfall, hazy electronics, and a sense of magic.
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The album's core strengths are patient pacing, inventive layering of nature sounds, and subtle prepared-piano textures.