June 14th 2025 – Fauré ‘Requiem’ & ‘Cantique de Jean Racine’
A Saturday evening concert in Sunderland Minster, starting at 7.30 p.m., conducted by David Murray.
Requiem – Gabriel Fauré
Cantique de Jean Racine – Gabriel Fauré
Panis Angelicus – César Franck
Originally composed in five movements, between 1887 and 1890, Fauré’s Requiem is more contemplative and lyrical than others. It has been described asa ‘lullaby of death’. Even the ‘dies irae’, the day of wrath, subsumed within the ‘libera me’, quickly gives way to an appeal to grant eternal rest. Indeed the texts of the libera me and in paradisum are taken from the book of burial rather than the liturgy of the requiem mass. Other, more subtle, changes to the texts include seeking deliverance for ‘all souls departed’ rather than the original ‘all faithful souls departed’.
The Cantique de Jean Racine was written for a competition when Fauré was just 19. It won first prize! The composition was dedicated to César Franck, the composer of ‘Panis Angelicus’ which completes our choral offering.
‘Panis Angelicus’ is a verse from the hymn ‘Sacris solemniis’, which was written by Saint Thomas Aquinas for the Feast of Corpus Christi in the 13th century. Franck composed a Mass (Messe ä trois voix) dating from 1861 that incorporates the text but it is more often, as here, performed as a separate piece.
Tickets – £15.00 for Nave (£8.00 concessions for full-time students and on income related benefits) or Gallery (limited view) £8.00. Accompanied under 16s free. Tickets will be available from members of the Society, at the door (cash or card), or on-line from www.wegottickets.com/BCS – who also have a direct link on the home page of this website.
Doors open from 6.45 p.m. Apart from seats marked for Patrons, there are no allocated seats.
