Gabriel Fauré

Gabriel Fauré (1845 – 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist, and teacher.  A prolific composer, Fauré was at home in many different idioms, including choral music, opera, orchestral and chamber music, and works for solo piano.

Composed between 1887 and 1890, the Requiem is the best-known of Fauré’s works.  Concerning it, Fauré wrote, “It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death, and someone has called it a lullaby of death.  But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience.”  Fittingly, the Requiem was performed at Fauré’s own funeral in 1924.

In March 2009, I had the privilege of singing in a memorable performance of the Requiem - in a chorus composed of two church choirs and four high-school choirs – under the direction of Anthony Giles, with soloists Marana Avant and Barry Johnson.

This performance features the Choeur de Chambre Les Éléments and La Chambre Philharmonique, conducted by Emmanuel Krivine, and soloists Sophie Karthäuser, soprano, and Thomas Bauer, baritone.