“Libera me” from Fauré’s Requiem

The year is 1924. You find yourself in a cathedral in Paris. Turning your head, you let your eyes wander around the room. In the middle, you spot a coffin. All around you are people dressed in black, mourning the death of a 79 year old man. Thinking to yourself, you recognise this was no funeral for a French pauper- present is a full orchestra, two soloists, and a chorus. Your eyes rest on the man in front, singing the words “Libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna”. You conclude the man in the coffin must be of importance. Who could such a great mass of death be dedicated to? The answer is no other than the composer himself, Gabriel Fauré.

With classical music, I find it can occasionally be helpful to put the music into context. Not that one can not enjoy listening to a piece without any previous information about it, but I have a hypothesis that when trying to listen to a type of music one hasn’t listened to much before, the unfamiliar elements can be potent as the ear registers the new sounds. For example: “This isn’t the type of singing technique I’m used to hearing, therefore I will automatically focus on what stands out the most- the unfamiliar elements”. I think that is why some people can find the classical technique unpleasant. “Squealing sopranos with a piercing voice, and large, thunderous bases.”

This man though, is neither of those. He’s a baritone. I picked this version of the piece because I particularly liked the treble in his voice.

Deciding on a first piece to write about was a bit of a challenge at first. I have so many I want to share, but I wasn’t quite sure what would make a “first” I’d be satisfied with. “It has to be a happy one”, I thought. “Not too dramatic, but light and friendly. Beautiful. It would be a nice introduction”. The last thing I’d want is to put you off classical music altogether. I had nearly made up my mind and decided on a piece, when I took a complete 180°.

Libera Me from Fauré’s requiem seemed appropriate considering you, my friend J, helped me with it last week. Or rather, your friend helped you help me translate it from Latin to English last week. Relying only on my own memory, I can recall the first stanza meaning something like this in English:

“Liberate me, O Lord, from the eternal death,

On the fateful day, on the day,

When the skies are moving, when the skies and earth are moving,

You will come and judge the earth in flames.”

I hope I was able to set the mood somewhat with the introduction I wrote to this post. Enjoy Fauré’s setting of this Roman Catholic responsory:

Ps. My teacher was very pleased with my acapella version of the first verse! Not quite “Glee” though, as you may be used to. 😉