Choral society to sing Fauré's – 'most beautiful of requiems' at Inverness cathedral
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The next performance from Inverness Choral Society will be Fauré’s Requiem which they sing at Inverness Cathedral next Saturday (April 22).
They build up to the evening’s main work with a selection of shorter pieces by Mendelssohn, Elgar, Tchaikovsky and Bach.
Conductor Gordon Tocher talks about the music in the programme and explains: “The Fauré is the most beautiful of requiems – and it went through several versions between its first composition in 1888, as a liturgical work on a very small scale, and its final form as a concert work with full orchestra in 1900.”
He goes on to say that the composer might not have preferred the concert version – but he seems to have been persuaded to it by his publisher.
He says others created the keyboard version of the accompaniment. But it may well be that in performing the work with organ accompaniment is returning to the more intimate feeling that was part of Fauré’s idea of the work.
The composer selected his text focusing on the concepts of rest and peace.
The result is a unique work that “speaks in its tender voice to choirs and audiences alike”.
The organist for the performance will be Adrian Marple.
Soloists will be soprano Colleen Nicoll, making her debut with the society, and the bass baritone is Colin Brockie.
Opening the night will be The Spirit of the Lord, the opening chorus of Elgar’s The Apostles.
Tchaikovsky, though best known for his orchestral works, also wrote church music including The Cherubic Hymn.
And the well-known aria My Heart, Ever Faithful, from Bach’s Pentecost cantata, no 68, provides contrast before the Fauré.
Tickets are £15, under 16s free. More: www.invernesschoral.org.uk
