The Washington University Concert Choir will present an evening of French choral music at 8 p.m. April 20 in Graham Chapel.
The program will open with Tu Es Petrus and Ubi Caritas by Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986). Both works are based on medieval plainchant from the Roman Catholic liturgy.
Featured on the program is the Requiem of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924), one of the most beloved works of all choral literature. The piece is dedicated to the memory of Elizabeth “Ibby” Gray Danforth, wife of Chancellor Emeritus William H. Danforth and the University’s first lady for nearly a quarter century, who passed away last spring; and Sona Haydon, a longtime lecturer in piano for the Department of Music in Arts & Sciences, who died last fall.
John Stewart, director of vocal activities for the music department, notes that the Requiem’s appeal “resides in lush, rich harmonies woven with melodies of great warmth and beauty. The entire piece is shaded with exquisite subtlety typical of late-19th-century French music.”
Fauré composed his Requiem in 1887, shortly after the death of his parents. At the time, he served as choirmaster at the Madeleine, one of Paris’s best-known and most fashionable churches. The work’s first performance took place there Jan. 16, 1888.
Unlike the more bombastic requiems of Hector Berlioz and Giuseppe Verdi, which shake the rafters in their depiction of Judgment Day, Fauré’s aim was to create a work of consolation and peace, which is poignantly achieved through the quietness of the “Pie Jesu” and “In Paradisum,” two of the Requiem’s five movements.
Stewart has chosen to present the work in its original, more-intimate version, rather than the large-scale (and better-known) reworking for full orchestra, which Fauré prepared for a performance at the Trocadéro Palace during the 1900 Paris World Exhibition.
The small orchestra for this version of the Requiem consists of strings, two French horns, harp and organ. Soloists will be soprano Amy Schwarz, a senior in Arts & Sciences, and Nathan Ruggles, who teaches voice in the music department.
Also featured will be University organist William Partridge Jr.
The performance is free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4841 or e-mail staylor@wustl.edu.