Thursday, January 24, 2008

Fauré Requiem is a Celebration of Life


The centerpiece for our Spring Concert is the Messe de Requiem by Gabriel Fauré. Written between 1887 and 1890, the Requiem reflects the composer's personal feelings and attitudes about death. Fauré said in 1902: "That's how I see death: as a joyful deliverance, an aspiration towards a happiness beyond the grave, rather than as a painful experience."

When one hears the Requiem, one can almost visualize Fauré's belief in this comforting, peaceful view of death. The final movement, In Paradisum, has an unearthly, ethereal quality, evoking choirs of angels leading the deceased to eternal rest in Paradise. "God's holy angels lead you to paradise; may saints in their glory receive you at your journey's end. May you, forever more, rest in peace."

Kyrian Corona

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