Program Notes

Presented by Los Cantantes del Lago

Friday, March 23, 2007

Sunday, March 25, 2007

GUEST CONDUCTOR, Martin André

with

Gabriel Fauré Requiem has been an aspiration for choirs and orchestras worldwide ever since it's first performance in 1888. Unlike many composers, Fauré was not drawn to compose a requiem because of the death of a loved one. The first performance included five movements. He added the Offertory in 1889, and added a setting of the Libera Me that he had written for baritone and organ some twelve years earlier. The original work was composed for a small choir and orchestra (primarily low strings) and organ. A later and larger version was premiered in 1900 at the Trocadéro in Paris. We are performing the latter version this evening.

Fauré thought on a smaller, more intimate scale than many of his contemporaries. Other 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. Fauré, on the other hand, opted for smaller ensembles and spare orchestrations. Thus, Fauré is often known as the composer to establish a distinctive French style which set the stage for the development of the Impressionist style of Debussy and Ravel.

Here are some quotations that Fauré said about his own work: "It has been said that my Requiem does not express the fear of death and someone has called it a lullaby of death. But it is thus that I see death: as a happy deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience." "My Requiem was composed for nothing... for fun, if I may be permitted to so say!"

The second half of the concert concentrates on seven pieces that also comment on living and dying. The Funeral Ikos by Tavener is unique in that the text is from the Greek Orthodox "Order for the Burial of Dead Priests". Listen carefully to the descriptive words. Tavener became famous when his work Song for Athens was selected as the recessional at Princess Diana's funeral.

Nella Fantasia is most readily known as Gabriel's Oboe from the movie, "The Mission". Ennio Morricone won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 Academy Awards. Morricone has written over 400 movie and television scores.

Stephen Paulus is a St. Paul, Minnesota native and Pilgrims' Hymn is from his opera "The Three Hermits". His lush and thick chords have made this work world-famous.

The final work is Elijah Rock arranged by the infamous Moses Hogan, a native of New Orleans. Hogan became world famous for his innumerous arrangements of African-American Spirituals. He died in 2003 at 46 years of age.

Contact Information

For more information about Los Cantantes del Lago and our upcoming concert season, send email to cantantesdellago@gmail.com.