This short Requiem by Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was commissioned by the publisher Giulio Ricordi, who wanted to mark the fourth anniversary (27 January 1905) of the death of Verdi by celebrating the memory of the “King of 19th century Italian opera” with a work composed by his successor on the opera stages of the world. According to a note by the composer on the first page of the manuscript, the piece was completed on 14 January 1905 in Milan and thus it belongs to the period in which the composer from Lucca had reached his full maturity, at a point in time between the fiasco of the premiere of Madama Butterfly at La Scala, Milan (1904) and the premiere of his next opera, La Fanciulla del West (1910). Today the work is often performed, since this setting for three voices can be easily performed by amateur choirs and requires only a viola (or violin) and a harmonium (or organ) as accompanying instruments. Our edition is for treble- or female voices choir, viola (violin) and harmonium (organ).