Summer Concert: Fauré - Requiem
Organ: Philip Scriven
Gibbons: Drop drop slow teares
Stanford: 3 Motets Op 38
Purcell: Hear my prayer
Fauré: Cantique de Jean Racine
Widor: Allegro Vivace from Symphony No. 5 (organ solo)
Parry: Songs of Farewell 1-4
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Fauré: Requiem
The main work in our summer concert was the Requiem by Gabriel Fauré, completed in 1900. Rather than expressing the fear of death the piece is, in the composer's own words, 'dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest'. Fauré said that it was perhaps an antidote to 'years of accompanying burial services on the organ!' and that he wanted to write something different; the result is a work of great beauty and reverence. It was performed at the composer's own death in 1928 and has since become a staple in the repertoire of choirs in countries around the world.
The Requiem was complemented by four of the six Songs of Farewell by Hubert Parry. Composed during the disaster of the First World War, when Parry was brought almost to despair by the death of many of his students in the conflict, the serenity of the songs provides a poignant contrast to the senseless violence of war, expressing a yearning for peace in heaven. One of the four songs 'There is an Old Belief', was performed at Parry's funeral in 1918.
The programme also included shorter works in similar reflective vein by Orlando Gibbons, Henry Purcell, and Charles Villiers Stanford.
Reviews
"Concert of English and French Music Raised £1k!"
A slightly shortened version of the following review by Alyson Paterson appeared in the Farnham Herald on 25 July 2024.
On 22nd June the Waverley Singers presented an accomplished and much enjoyed programme of French and English music to a full house at St Andrew’s Church in Farnham.
The programme, conducted by Musical Director Richard Pearce and accompanied by organist Philip Scriven, started with Orlando Gibbons’ Drop, Drop Slow Teares, which set the tone with its quiet simplicity. Stanford’s 3 Motets op 38 were elegantly performed, the double choir format in Coelos Ascendit particularly effective in its bright clarity.
Purcell’s incredible Hear My Prayer arises as a single thread in the alto part, the other 7 vocal parts weaving in turn as the music gradually rises in volume and pitch, the sinuous lines forming expressive dissonances. Fauré’s poignant Cantique de Jean Racine was in sharp contrast to the first movement of Widor’s Symphony No 5 for organ, performed with tremendous panache by Philip Scriven, to the audience’s delight!
Parry’s Songs of Farewell were written 1916-1918 and reflect his despair as the Great War progressed. The first 4 of these were performed, including My Soul there is a Country (sung at the funeral of Elizabeth II) and There is An Old Belief, sung at Parry’s own funeral. The choir sang with sensitivity, capturing the poignancy of the texts.
Faure’s much-loved Requiem afforded the opportunity for all sections of the choir to shine, the altos and tenors in the Offertorium, the basses, assuming the role of baritone soloist, in the quietly impassioned Libera Me, and the sopranos in the shimmering In Paradisum. The beautiful Pie Jesu was sung with elegant simplicity by Tracy Smith.
This was a polished and very enjoyable concert. The retiring collection for the Cheryl King Trust raised the magnificent sum of £1,124. Within the week, the choir will be on tour in Normandy, giving concerts in Lisieux and Honfleur. The local concertgoers are in for a treat!
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