Faure Requiem

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THE MASTER OF CHARMS (Part 3)
- French Composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)

By Christopher M. Wright
© 2006 Christopher M. Wright
All Rights Reserved

Part 3 - The Fauré Requiem

The term 'requiem' originally meant the Roman Catholic Mass for the dead but later came to be used more generally. The Mass, though, is the subject of Gabriel Fauré's most successful large-scale work, the Requiem.

As Fauré reportedly told a friend in 1902: "It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death, and somebody called it a lullaby of death. But that is how I see death - as a happy deliverance, an aspiration to happiness above rather than as a painful experience."

In his early career, Fauré worked as a church organist to make a living. He accompanied burial services for many years. "I know it all by heart," he said. "I wanted to write something different."

Fauré's Requiem departs from previous famous examples which have been criticized as bombastic and overblown. Fauré wrote that Berlioz's 1837 effort was a score "in which taste for large-scale dramatic effects and indifference toward religious music ... can find equal satisfaction." Similarly, Verdi's Requiem, which employs a huge orchestra and choir, and has been called 'Verdi's best opera.'

Contrast the self-conscious epic sweep of those works with words used to describe the Fauré Requiem: "understated", "consoling", "gentle", "serene", "comforting", "elevating". One may reasonably conclude that it is Fauré who got closest to the true meaning of the word 'requiem' (rest).

The music builds from a quiet beginning and is not as tuneful as Fauré's other works. In a sense, Fauré's Requiem is like a soundtrack, successful because it enhances the experience and evokes an emotional response without distracting the listener or calling attention to itself. So melodies move along the scale without leaps and harmonic changes are pleasing, never jarring. The descending chord changes in the fifth section (Agnus Dei) comprise perhaps the most distinctive passage. The final section (In paradisum) is surprisingly light and buoyant, suiting the text perfectly (translated into English, "May angels lead you into Paradise ... may you have eternal rest.")

Though he was employed in religious capacities, Fauré's own religious views have been described as unconventional, agnostic, and even cynical. "Everything I managed to entertain in the way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest," Fauré said some years later.

A number of points about the Requiem are disputed. Some authorities hold that Fauré composed the work in memory of his father, while others say it had nothing at all to do with the death of a loved one. The work was first performed at La Madeleine in 1888, but the dates of composition range from 1877 to 1900. Part of the confusion may have to do with the fact that different scores exist. The first may have been for chorus and organ but another authority speaks of the first being for chamber orchestra with lower strings, harp, timpani, and organ. Fauré later added sections and rescored the work for larger forces, including brass and additional soloist (baritone). A 1900 version was larger still and some suspect it is the work of a student, not Fauré himself.

Recommended recordings of Fauré's Requiem often include the 1987 performance by Matthew Best, the Corydon Singers, and the English Chamber Orchestra (Amazon link below). Personally, I like the 1995 recording by Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields (not on Amazon last I checked).

Gabriel Fauré Series -
Part 1 - Short Popular Works
Part 2 - Chamber Works
Part 4 - Piano Music

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