Requiem by Gabriel Fauré is the first concert of the 2022-2023 Cathedral Concert series

“Requiem,” the first concert of the 2022–2023 season of the Cathedral Concert series, is an offering of music as a healing balm for the soul. The major work of the evening will be the magnificent "Requiem" by Gabriel Fauré. This powerful piece stands out among the Requiem Mass settings for its more gentle, introspective character. The Requiem (or funeral Mass) takes its name from the Introit—the first words sung at the Mass—and is translated as “rest.” 

The performance is primarily dedicated to the loss of loved ones who died from Covid-19 or other causes during the pandemic, and those unable to gather for the funeral services of family and loved ones. It is our hope that this music provides an opportunity for the community to come together to mourn, heal, comfort and be comforted.

The Cathedral Concert Series provides opportunities for uplifting musical experiences for the people of south Texas. These experiences remain important as our society continues to emerge from the pandemic and its associated effects.

The concert is free, but reservations are required. To reserve free seating passes, or for more information, please visit cathedralconcertseries.com

A free-will offering will be taken to support the Cathedral Concert Series.

We invite you to come and enjoy beautiful music in honor of those who have died and join in thanksgiving for the impact they had on our lives on Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. at Corpus Christi Cathedral
 

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MORE INFO ON FAURÉ’S REQUIEM:

Gabriel Fauré composed his Requiem to reflect his own views on death, remarking, “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.” 

While Fauré said the work was not composed as a result of a personal tragedy or loss, its completion shortly after the death of his own mother was undoubtedly influenced in some way by this event. The work was popular while Fauré was alive, and was performed at his own funeral.

Fauré said in an interview shortly after the work’s completion, “Everything I managed to entertain by way of religious illusion I put into my Requiem, which moreover is dominated from beginning to end by a very human feeling of faith in eternal rest.”