Fauré's Requiem

Experience this sublime program conducted by Lawrence Renes, culminating in Fauré’s divine Requiem, featuring the MSO Chorus and much-loved soloists Siobhan Stagg and Roderick Williams.

• Inspired by the mental image of entering a mythical cave, Elena Kats-Chernin’s moody, hymn-like work transports its audience to a mesmerising and fantastical domain.

• The ability of Sibelius’ Seventh Symphony to lure its listener to another dimension is remarkable. The structure of tempo changes in this seamless patchwork of a piece means that time behaves almost as an illusion. The music’s imperceptible shifting of gears results in an immersive, wonderfully-disorienting experience.

• A Requiem – a mass for the dead – might seem a strange choice for a composer who was described by his son as ‘a sceptic’. This perspective proved an asset for Fauré, who brings a vastly different message to his Requiem than his predecessors. Instead of a haunting, sombre work, Fauré’s is a profound meditation on the restful warmth waiting in paradise.

Duration: approx. 1 hour and 40 minutes including interval