Tag: Requiem

Requiem of the week: Fauré

Camille Saint-Saëns said of it, “Just as Mozart’s is the only Ave verum Corpus, this is the only Pie Jesu.”

This late 19th century piece, by composer Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), is probably my second favorite requiem. My current choir has performed it at least twice, in 2005 and 2009. It runs about 35 minutes, and consists of seven movements; the linked audios are from sundry sources.

I. Introït et Kyrie (D minor)
II. Offertoire (B minor)
III. Sanctus (E flat major)

Yes, the call-and-response is important, but it’s the violin that makes it.
IV. Pie Jesu (B flat major) A lovely soprano aria, often used in films, etc. Camille Saint-Saëns said of it, “Just as Mozart’s is the only Ave Verum Corpus, this is the only Pie Jesu.”
V. Agnus Dei et Lux Aeterna (F major) – but it’s almost always the Agnus Dei that gets to me.
VI. Libera me (D minor) Wish I could sing like this baritone.
VII. In Paradisum (D major) Another popular work in other media.

Ah, here’s another In Paradisum

You can hear the whole thing, if you have the right media player, here.

Requiem of the week- Duruflé

My current church choir performed the Duruflé Requiem in 2006, but it didn’t entrance me as other requiems have.

From the Wikipedia: “The Requiem, op. 9, by Maurice Duruflé was commissioned in 1947 by the French music publisher Durand and is written in memory of the composer’s father… It exists in three orchestrations: one for organ alone, one for organ with string orchestra and optional trumpets, harp and timpani, and one for organ and full orchestra. At the time of commission, Duruflé was working on an organ suite using themes from Gregorian chants. He incorporated his sketches for that work into the Requiem, which uses numerous themes from the Gregorian ‘Mass for the Dead.’ Nearly all the thematic material in the work comes from chant.

I found the complete work performed by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Conducted by Robert Shaw. Music links to all parts, the first two together, with the Kyrie starting at about 3:59.

Introit (Requiem Aeternam)
Kyrie eleison “The plainchant influence is clearly evident, particularly in the bass lead to this section.”
Offertory (Domine Jesu Christe)
Sanctus – Benedictus
Pie Jesu
Agnus Dei
Communion (Lux aeterna)
Libera me
In Paradisum

My current church choir performed this requiem at some point, but it didn’t entrance me as other requiems have. Still, I must note it, in part, because when our church choir director and the director of Albany Pro Musica put together their lists of possible pieces of music for the funeral of Albert Wood on March 2 (which would have been Albert’s 58th birthday), both directors came up with the Kyrie from this piece. My church choir and APM performed it together that morning, and i discovered a new fondness, at least for that section.

Requiem of the Week: John Rutter

Go to The John Rutter YouTube channel.

 

The Requiem by British composer John Rutter (b. 1945) was completed and first performed in 1985. An orchestra, including a harp, accompanies the choir. My church choir at the time performed this perhaps a decade after its premiere, so it was still a rather new piece.

1. Requiem aeternam. Includes the Introit from the Tridentine Requiem Mass and the Kyrie. It starts off so slowly that you may not realize it has begun. But it moves from minor key to major, making it hopeful.

2. Out of the deep. Based on Psalm 130, it may be my favorite piece in the requiem. “It contains a prominent cello solo written in C minor.” Moreover, I think, if it were rearranged, it could almost be a blues piece.

3. Pie Jesu. A motet, primarily a soprano solo, “with only slight involvement of the chorus echoing the words ‘Dona eis requiem, Dona eis sempiternam requiem'”.

4. Sanctus – Benedictus. A “bright, lively, and exclamatory movement which is brightly orchestrated with bells, flute, and oboe and occasional timpani recalling the passage in Old Testament scripture in Isaiah chapter 6, and the worship of the six-winged seraphim in the heavenly throne-room of God.” Sonically, it almost sounds Christmasy.

5. Agnus Dei – as often in requiems, a pleading. Quite stirring musically, especially as it crescendoes.

6. The Lord is my shepherd. A moving rendition of Psalm 23. This “was originally written in 1976 as a separate anthem,” and does stand alone. Our choir performed it as such a couple of times.

7. Lux aeterna. Includes “words from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer Burial Service…and the communion chant from the Tridentine Requiem Mass.” A suitable ending.

The work lasts about 40 minutes.

I know the rap on the composer: “Rutter… is…hard to take seriously, because of the way in which his sheer technical facility or versatility leads to a superficial, unstable crossover style which is neither quite classical not pop, and which tends towards mawkish sentimentality in his sugarily-harmonised and orchestrated melodies.” That may be true of some of his other pieces, but I think this one works well.

Here is a recording of Requiem with Orchestra by St. Matthew’s Choir of Ealing.

Go to The John Rutter YouTube channel – search for Requiem for Rutter’s take on this piece.

Requiem of the Week – Brahms German

Albert Wood, a member of my church choir, and a March Pisces, died on Ash Wednesday.

 

Nothing gets me in the Lenten mood like a bunch of Requiems (Requia?). I have sung several of them over the years. One I haven’t sung is Brahms’ A German Requiem, though I do have a recording of it. However, I have sung the 4th movement, in English, and it is known as How Lovely is thy dwelling place.

From the Wikipedia: A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 (German: Ein deutsches Requiem, nach Worten der heiligen Schrift) by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms’s longest composition.

A German Requiem is sacred but non-liturgical, and unlike a long tradition of the Latin Requiem, A German Requiem, as its title states, is a Requiem in the German language.

It is a standard for a number of choirs. I know of at least a couple of people who would love it to be performed at their funerals, and it is on my list of pieces to be considered for that purpose.

Here are:
How Lovely is thy dwelling place, in English, by the Exultate Festival Choir
The same movement, in German, by the UCLA Chorale
The whole requiem by the UC Davis University and Alumni Choruses and Symphony Orchestra; unfortunately, the vocals often sound a bit muddy, per the recording methodology, not the singers.
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A sad note: Albert Wood, a member of my church choir as well as other choral groups, and a March Pisces, died on Ash Wednesday. Stole this picture from someone’s Facebook page. On his LinkedIn page, a fellow choir member had written: “An incredibly talented, energetic and ethical individual, with considerable insight into the human and corporate condition.” Among other things, he was a very talented pianist.

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