The Cathedral Concert series returns with a concert offering hope in troubled times

“Let Peace then Still the Strife,” the first concert in the reimagined Cathedral Concert series, is an offering to the city of music as a healing balm to the soul. The major work of the evening will be the magnificent Requiem by Gabriel Fauré. This powerful piece stands out among the Requiem Masses for its more gentle, introspective character. It is sung in honor of all who have died of COVID-19.

The rest of the program highlights themes of hope amidst despair. Contemporary works by Morten Lauridsen, Ola Gjeilo, and Mack Wilberg illustrate the peace that comes from hope and unity, while works by Handel and Bach acknowledge the pain of our sometimes difficult existence before bursting into joyful hope for the future.

The Cathedral Concert Series provides opportunities for uplifting musical experiences for the people of south Texas. These experiences are particularly important now and will continue to be important as our society emerges from the pandemic and its associated effects.

The concert is designed with safety measures in mind. Performers will be distanced from each other and the audience. Parties will be seated with buffer seating to provide social distancing. All attendees are required to wear a face mask while inside the Cathedral.

The concert is free, but space is limited to preserve social distancing. 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 of their lives. Attendees may submit names of the deceased to be honored during the performance of the Requiem.

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.”

Saturday, November 7, 2020
7:30 pm
Corpus Christi Cathedral

Seating passes (free) can be reserved at https://cathedral-concert-series.ticketleap.com/let-peace-then-still-the-strife