Piece #7 - Agnus Dei - Faure' Requiem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RSMcgQfM9E

This piece has one of the most beautiful and lyrical lines in the choral repertory.

Factoids:

• Like the Durufle' Requiem discussed yesterday, Faure' wrote this as a lighter and more forgiving setting of the Funeral Mass.
• This is a contrast to the massive settings by Verdi and Berlioz which put emphasis on the wrath of final judgment.
• Faure' (and Durufle) do this by omitting the Dies Irae text (although it appears later in the Libera me, the initial presentation in the sequence is left out).

• As many of you know, the text for Agnus Dei is as follows:

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. (repeated)
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

• Often composers base their musical settings on the regret of sin, by using a darker harmonic langauge.
• After listening to the opening ascending passage in the Celli and Tenors, it seems Faure' emphasizes the hope of forgiveness, rather than the sorrow of sin.

Enjoy!