Reflection and Remembrance: Requiems by Fauré and Charpentier at Union Chapel, London on Saturday 12th November 2022

Please note: This concert is in the past and has already taken place.

Reflection and Remembrance

Requiems by Fauré and Charpentier

Add to my Calendar 12-11-2022 20:00 12-11-2022 22:00 36 Reflection and Remembrance It is unusual, but perhaps telling, that requiems – by Mozart, Verdi, Fauré, John Rutter, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more – have become so popular and well known. This music may have been written in memory of the departed, but it is capable of bringing great comfort, guidance and even joy to our daily lives; as well as at times of loss and memorial.  As we enter the season of remembrance in early November (including All Souls' Day, Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday), Figure invites you to an evening of reflective words and choral music featuring requiems by two great French composers, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704). The choir and orchestra of Figure, conducted by Frederick Waxman, will be joined by special guest reader Donald Macleod and leading British soloists, Rowan Pierce (soprano) and Ashley Riches (bass-baritone). Whilst Fauré’s Requiem is a firm favourite, with the bittersweet ‘Pie Jesu’ at its heart, Charpentier’s sacred music is heard all too rarely. The ‘requiem’ presented in this concert sees Charpentier's Messe pour les trépassés (Mass for the Departed) paired with his Prose des morts (a setting of the Dies Irae). Together they form a powerful musical journey, ranging from the fiery wrath of the Dies Irae at its centre, to the plaintive lamentations which open and close the mass. With echoes of Monteverdi’s celebrated Vespers of 1610, this music will leave a lasting impression and provide fascinating context to Fauré’s Requiem, also written in Paris some 200 years later. All of the music presented in this concert is sacred music, written for and first-performed in Christian funeral services. These requiems were not intended to be performed as concert works, played from start to finish, but broken up and interspersed by formal words or personal reflections. Although this performance is being held in a church, it is not an act of worship. However, Figure hopes to capture some of the stillness, solemnity and poignancy of a church service by allowing the music space to breathe through moments of reflective poetry and prose, led by special guest reader, BBC Radio 3's Donald Macleod. Founded by conductor and harpsichordist Frederick Waxman and praised by The Guardian for its “good ideas, good musicians and good support”, Figure is a forward-thinking historical performance ensemble. In short, ‘historical performance’ means performing music of the past using the instruments and techniques from the time of the music's creation. Figure represents the emerging generation of historically-minded musicians, eager to expand the scope of historical performance beyond the usual Baroque (1600-1750) and Renaissance (1400-1600) periods. In this concert, Figure will demonstrate two very different historical performance styles as it presents music from both the 17th and 19th centuries. In the Charpentier (thought to be composed in the 1670s) you can expect to see a ‘serpent’ (an ancestor of the tuba in the shape of a snake!); whilst in the Fauré (the 1893 chamber version) the string players will adopt the expressive playing style of late 19th-century France.  Figure’s previous events include Mozart’s Gran Partita, a sell-out performance of Bach’s St John Passion (praised for its “thrilling immediacy” by Michael Church, critic for The Independent), and Handel’s late operatic masterpiece Serse at Opera Holland Park (★★★★★ The Reviews Hub). Formed in the wake of the pandemic, a time when live music had almost evaporated, Figure has been shaped by the overwhelming desire to bring music back to live audiences. Prioritising intimacy in performance and the human connection which lends music so much of its meaning, Figure aims to marry the two by using space and light to bring audiences as close to their work as possible. Figure aims to offer more than just concerts, but experiences, as well as improving access to Classical music by taking it out of traditional venues and offering reduced-price tickets. Union Chapel, London DD/MM/YYYY

Details

Union Chapel
19b Compton Terrace
Islington
London
N1 2UN
England

Saturday 12th November 2022
8:00 PM

Programme

Marc-Antoine Charpentier – Messe pour les Trépassés à 8, H.2
Marc-Antoine Charpentier – Messe des morts, H.7
~ Interval ~
Gabriel Fauré – Requiem, Op.48 (1883)

Performers

Rowan Pierce – soprano
Ashley Riches – baritone
Frederick Waxman – Conductor
Donald Macleod – Reader

Figure

Programme Note

It is unusual, but perhaps telling, that requiems – by Mozart, Verdi, Fauré, John Rutter, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more – have become so popular and well known. This music may have been written in memory of the departed, but it is capable of bringing great comfort, guidance and even joy to our daily lives; as well as at times of loss and memorial.

As we enter the season of remembrance in early November (including All Souls' Day, Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday), Figure invites you to an evening of reflective words and choral music featuring requiems by two great French composers, Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) and Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704). The choir and orchestra of Figure, conducted by Frederick Waxman, will be joined by special guest reader Donald Macleod and leading British soloists, Rowan Pierce (soprano) and Ashley Riches (bass-baritone).

Whilst Fauré’s Requiem is a firm favourite, with the bittersweet ‘Pie Jesu’ at its heart, Charpentier’s sacred music is heard all too rarely. The ‘requiem’ presented in this concert sees Charpentier's Messe pour les trépassés (Mass for the Departed) paired with his Prose des morts (a setting of the Dies Irae). Together they form a powerful musical journey, ranging from the fiery wrath of the Dies Irae at its centre, to the plaintive lamentations which open and close the mass. With echoes of Monteverdi’s celebrated Vespers of 1610, this music will leave a lasting impression and provide fascinating context to Fauré’s Requiem, also written in Paris some 200 years later.

All of the music presented in this concert is sacred music, written for and first-performed in Christian funeral services. These requiems were not intended to be performed as concert works, played from start to finish, but broken up and interspersed by formal words or personal reflections. Although this performance is being held in a church, it is not an act of worship. However, Figure hopes to capture some of the stillness, solemnity and poignancy of a church service by allowing the music space to breathe through moments of reflective poetry and prose, led by special guest reader, BBC Radio 3's Donald Macleod.

Founded by conductor and harpsichordist Frederick Waxman and praised by The Guardian for its “good ideas, good musicians and good support”, Figure is a forward-thinking historical performance ensemble. In short, ‘historical performance’ means performing music of the past using the instruments and techniques from the time of the music's creation. Figure represents the emerging generation of historically-minded musicians, eager to expand the scope of historical performance beyond the usual Baroque (1600-1750) and Renaissance (1400-1600) periods. In this concert, Figure will demonstrate two very different historical performance styles as it presents music from both the 17th and 19th centuries. In the Charpentier (thought to be composed in the 1670s) you can expect to see a ‘serpent’ (an ancestor of the tuba in the shape of a snake!); whilst in the Fauré (the 1893 chamber version) the string players will adopt the expressive playing style of late 19th-century France.

Figure’s previous events include Mozart’s Gran Partita, a sell-out performance of Bach’s St John Passion (praised for its “thrilling immediacy” by Michael Church, critic for The Independent), and Handel’s late operatic masterpiece Serse at Opera Holland Park (★★★★★ The Reviews Hub). Formed in the wake of the pandemic, a time when live music had almost evaporated, Figure has been shaped by the overwhelming desire to bring music back to live audiences. Prioritising intimacy in performance and the human connection which lends music so much of its meaning, Figure aims to marry the two by using space and light to bring audiences as close to their work as possible. Figure aims to offer more than just concerts, but experiences, as well as improving access to Classical music by taking it out of traditional venues and offering reduced-price tickets.

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