Description
In writing his Requiem, Fauré deliberately set out to do something different from the ‘norm’ and opted for a gentler approach. Often called a ‘Lullaby of Death’, the resulting serenely beautiful Requiem in D Minor certainly succeeded. The Requiem’s central movement – the profoundly moving Pie Jesu – is perhaps the best known of all Fauré’s works. Saint-Saëns said of it, “Just as Mozart’s is the only Ave verum corpus, this is the only Pie Jesu” – praise indeed! Rather fittingly, the Requiem was performed at Faure’s funeral in 1924.
