Well, is there?

After a few weeks of singing the Faure Requiem, I'm moved to pose this question: is there really anything more beautiful than that opening "obligato" in the Agnus Dei? I overheard a number of choristers swooning over it. I keep listening to it on a recording. I just wish it were longer! It's right up there with that other masterpiece of the genre, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." The latter is certainly one of the greatest "tunes" of all time--and many don't know that it was "background music." Well, sort of. The American Heritage Dictionary says that the word "obligato" is "used of an accompaniment that is an integral part of a piece." That clearly applies to Faure's gem.