FAURE REQUIEM, featuring the Midlands Chamber Choir and the Hilton College Vocal Ensemble

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Join the Hilton College Vocal Ensemble and the Midlands Chamber Choir for a stunning rendition of Gabriel Faure's beloved REQUIEM, in the gorgeous setting of the Hilton College Chapel, at 3pm on Sunday 2 June.

This FREE concert, conducted by Mahieu van der Linde and featuring Luke Holder on organ, showcases the Requiem, composed in 1888 when Fauré was in his forties, quite probably in response to the recent death of his father. Shortly after its first performance, Fauré’s mother also died, giving the work an added poignancy. In its sequence of movements the Requiem departs significantly from the standard liturgical text. Fauré included two new sections, the lyrical Pie Jesu and the transcendent In Paradisum, with its soaring vocal line and murmuring harp accompaniment. He also omitted the Dies Irae and Tuba Mirum—for most composers an opportunity to exploit to the full the dramatic possibilities of all the available choral and orchestral forces. Consequently, the prevailing mood is one of peacefulness and serenity, and the work has often been described, quite justly, as a Requiem without the Last Judgement.

Of the many settings of the Requiem, this is probably the most widely loved. In comparison with the large-scale masterpieces of Verdi, Brahms, and Berlioz, Fauré’s setting seems gentle and unassuming, yet it is this very quality of understatement that contributes so eloquently to the work’s universal appeal, and it is impossible not to be moved by the ethereal beauty of this humble masterpiece.

DATE: 02 June 2024

TIME: 15h00

VENUE: Hilton College Chapel

PRICE: Free (seating is limited, so booking is essential)

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