Fauré and Rutter Requiems

Rutter Requiem
Fauré Requiem in D minor, Op. 48 (ed. John Rutter)

Mary Bevan soprano
Gareth Brynmor John baritone
Choir of Merton College  
John Rutter conductor

When Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem first appeared in Paris in 1888, it seemed to propose a whole new musical and religious philosophy. Far from the fire and brimstone of Verdi’s or even Mozart’s Requiems, Fauré’s is at its most powerful when at its most calm and reassuring. ‘It is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest,’ said the composer of the score’s clean lines, pure vocal textures and elegant orchestration. John Rutter, long associated with the score as its editor, leads the Orchestra and the Choir of Merton College for this performance of Fauré’s masterpiece of understatement, along with his own setting of the Latin Requiem.

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