LSO Live LS 0728

Fauré: Requiem; J.S. Bach: Partita in D minor, Chorales, Ciaconna – Nigel Short, Gordan Nikolitch, Grace Davidson, William Gaunt, London Symphony Orchestra Chamber Ensemble

During the 2011 City of London Festival, Tenebrae joined a chamber ensemble from the LSO at St Paul’s Cathedral for a performance of Fauré’s Requiem. The work was preceded by a selection of Bach’s chorales, interspersed with his Partita in D minor for solo violin, performed by Gordan Nikolitch, leader of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Fauré’s Requiem favours serenity, joy, and liberation over the dread and terror highlighted by most composers in settings of the Mass for the Dead. By adopting a more comforting approach, Fauré crafted music of astonishing beauty, in particular the ‘Pie Jesu’. Bach’s Partita No. 2, with chorales interspersed, culminates in a reconstruction of the ‘Ciaconna’, which draws attention to the hidden chorale themes within this fascinating work.