Pieces:
- Gabriel Faure – Requiem in D Minor, Op.48
- Gioachino Rossini – Overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia
- Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op.51
Venue: Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, Manhattan, NY
Performers: New England Symphonic Ensemble, Joanna Medawar Nachef (Guest Conductor), Giuseppe Lanzetta (Guest Conductor), Amy Shoremount-Obra (Soparano vocalist), Toufic Maatouk (Bass-baritone vocalist), and 12 participating choruses from California and Lebanon
According to Emile Vuillermozs’ book entitled Gabriel Faure, “Requiem, Op.48” is described as “an absolutely unique work….the only one of its kind”(Vuillermoz 1960,74). When first listening to this piece, I was struck by the minor key which immidiately gave a melancholic theme. The libretto in general, is initially dominated by the soprano vocals within the main theme. The baritone voices are introduced at a moment when a new theme is introduced, and is again brought back to the main theme with the soprano vocals. Halfway into the Requiem there is a big shift in theme and the key is now in a major. It has a more uplifting quality, compared to the somber theme in the first half.
Gabriel Faure is probably most recognized for this piece. Unlike Mozart’s or Monteverdi’s Requiems, Faure has created a piece that has no religious or musical connections to past Requiems. Faure was not a religious man, yet designed this piece in a way that respected the views of religious people.
Sources: Vuillermoz, Emile. Gabriel Faure. Philidephia: n.p., 1960. Print.