Of all his music, Fauré’s requiem is held up as being his greatest masterpiece. And it’s a bit of an anomaly in his oeuvre. Through his career he focused on small scale, intimate chamber music, art songs, things that can be saved for parlors or salons. And he was criticized for it. Only pretty little melodies, and no depth. An unfair judgment because we can see and hear the form of his music and how he plays with harmony in ways that keeps his chamber music from being trite. Even so, it was a bit of a surprise that he came out with a Requiem mass. Something that was becoming more and more “reserved” for “great” composers. It was written in the late 1880s, possibly because of his father’s death. And shortly after its premiere, his mother also passed away. Despite these tragedies, this requiem does not have the bombast and dramatic flair that one would expect from this kind of work in the Romantic era. In a unique move, Fauré goes against the requiem format, omitting the Dies Irae and Tuba Miram, and adding a “Pie Jesu” and “In Paradisum”. The result is something meditative, accepting, and serene. It is a calm approach to death. It has been judged as a “requiem without the Last Judgment”. It was revised a few times after its premiere, adding more instruments and giving the orchestra a more full sound. This performance is with the original 1893 instrumentation and gives the performance a more intimate feel. If you haven’t heard this work before, then it’s going to be a very moving experience. I’m always taken aback by the subtle introduction, the beautiful and simple Pie Jesu, the dramatic climax and recapitulation of the main theme in the Agnus Dei, and then the final heavenly peace of the In Paradisum.
