Fauré - Requiem

Isaure Brunner Soprano
Jean-Gabriel Saint-Martin Baritone
Chœur de l’Opera Royal
Orchestre de l’Opera Royal
Victor Jacob Conductor

For the 100^th anniversary of Gabriel Fauré’s death.

Fauré’s Requiem occupies a singular place among the sacred works that have made their mark on the repertoire. Far from the operatic or thunderous requiems of Mozart, Berlioz, Brahms or Verdi, this is an intimate score of modest means, but with a very French seductiveness. Of course, Fauré did not want to outdo his glorious predecessors, but to keep up with the times, when Parisian piety was within the reach of the faithful, and he was undoubtedly more in line with the recent requiems by Liszt and Saint-Saëns.

Premièred at the Madeleine in 1888, for an architect’s New Year’s Eve ceremony, this (deceptively) confident work quickly enjoyed considerable success in concert. “Some have said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death, others have called it a death lullaby. But that is how I feel about death: a happy release, an aspiration to the happiness of the afterlife, rather than a painful passage.”

In this, the centenary year of Gabriel Fauré’s death, it is fitting that his most emblematic sacred work should be performed: the Requiem he put on at La Madeleine for the centenary of the execution of Louis XVI on 21 January 1893. This was followed by numerous performances around the world, and often enlarged versions for concert halls. Of this truly inspired Requiem, Victor Jacob has decided to perform the “church” version with a chamber orchestra (without violins, but with violas!), following the 1893 arrangement. He completes the programme with spiritual works by Rossini, Schubert and Brahms, beautifully showcasing the choristers of whom Fauré, as Chapel Master of La Madeleine, was particularly fond. The Choir and Orchestra of the Opéra Royal of the Château de Versailles create a sublime setting for this clutch of masterpieces.

Productions of the Royal Opera.

This concert is presented with the exceptional support of ADOR – Les Amis de l’Opéra Royal.

This concert is dedicated to the memory of Joëlle Broguet, founding member of ADOR – les Amis de l’Opéra Royal.