Faure's Requiem

Paper Summary:

Gabriel Faure's requiem in D minor, Op. 48, is one of the most popular requiems (funeral masses in the Christian tradition) and is a tour de force of 19th Century music. Usually performed by choir and orchestra, it is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful requiems written. This paper gives background information, including dates, edits and Faure's own intent in the work, and then gives a complete movement by movement music-to-text evaluation of the requiem itself.

From the Paper:

"What is important to note is that the composers of the day tended to write for progressively bigger and bigger orchestras, with thicker, more complicated textures, and phrases which stuck slavishly to the divisions of the bar line. Faure, on the other hand, opted for smaller ensembles and spare orchestrations, omitting violins and winds in the Requiem when he felt they were unnecessary. Faure also thought on a smaller, more intimate "musical" scale than many of his contemporaries. There are none of the larger-than-life statements of Berlioz or Wagner; the entire Requiem has roughly 30 bars of fortissimo singing, and most of it does not rise above mezzoforte."

More papers on Faure's Requiem:

• Essay # 54714 : "Faure's "Requiem"
• Comparison Essay # 11614 : "Requiem Masses of Giuseppe Verdi & Gabriel Faure"
• Analytical Essay # 57769 : "Requiem" by Anna Akhmatova"

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