Program Notes: Fauré Requiem

TŌRU TAKEMITSU  
Requiem for String Orchestra 
BORN: October 8, 1930, in Tokyo, Japan 
DIED: February 20, 1996, in Tokyo 
WORK COMPOSED: 1957 
WORLD PREMIERE: June 1957, in Tokyo 

What to Listen For: 

• The continuous motion of small musical gestures shaped like the inhales and exhales of breath that add to the visceral nature of this intense work.  

The continuous motion of small musical gestures shaped like the inhales and exhales of breath that add to the visceral nature of this intense work.  

Toru Takemitsu was a largely self-taught composer who began writing music as a teenager. He first encountered Western music after World War II, when he was bedridden from an illness and listening to the radio for hours each day. The American occupation of Japan brought with it live broadcasts of performances from the Hollywood Bowl and Takemitsu absorbed everything from jazz to Aaron Copland, Claude Debussy and Arnold Schoenberg. He later attributed his early music education to the radio, saying it was his first teacher.  

Takemitsu composed his Requiem for String Orchestra at the age of 27. Commissioned by the Tokyo Symphony, this was his first large-scale work for orchestra. During the composing process, he realized he was still mourning his friend and mentor, the great film composer Fumio Hayasaka, who had died two years earlier, and so decided to turn his work into a requiem. Takemitsu, who had spent years of his life fighting sickness, later commented that this piece came to encompass even more: “I finally realized that I didn’t know when I myself was going to die … I thought I ought to write my own requiem.” Two years after its premiere, Igor Stravinsky happened to hear a recording of the Requiem while he was on tour in Japan. After Stravinsky declared it a masterpiece, Takemitsu gained international recognition that led to a prolific career as a composer.  

The Requiem has no clearly defined beginning or end. Muted strings emerge from one note into a series of elegiac phrases that swell and fade like a slow-moving ocean tide. A short viola solo and a breath of silence signal a new section made up of similar material but with a more robust sound. Brisk rhythmic figures appear briefly within the texture before another viola solo brings about the return of the opening section. This is a requiem of miniature proportions, yet densely packed with emotion and atmospheric intensity.  

GABRIEL FAURÉ  
Requiem, Op. 48 
BORN: May 12, 1845, in Pamiers, France 
DIED: November 4, 1924, in Paris, France 
WORK COMPOSED: 1877–1900 
WORLD PREMIERE: The final version was performed on July 12, 1900, during the Paris Exposition.  

What to Listen For:  

• With this work, Fauré offers a striking contrast to the requiems of Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that all include depictions of the final judgement day. Fauré’s Requiem is a serene meditation meant to bring comfort to those in mourning.  

With this work, Fauré offers a striking contrast to the requiems of Giuseppe Verdi, Hector Berlioz and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart that all include depictions of the final judgement day. Fauré’s Requiem is a serene meditation meant to bring comfort to those in mourning.  

Gabriel Fauré was the youngest of six children born into a family with deep roots in Southern France. He developed his love of music in a small chapel attached to the school where his father worked, spending countless hours improvising at the organ. At the age of 9, he moved to Paris, where he studied classical and religious music for a decade; he remained in the city for the rest of his life.  

Work on the Requiem began in 1877 and lasted over 20 years. It was first performed with a small ensemble for a funeral at the Church of the Madeleine and later re-imagined for full orchestra in 1900. Unlike the dramatic and bold requiems of Verdi and Berlioz that address death and the terrifying day of judgement, Fauré’s Requiem is calm and comforting, a solace for those in mourning. He chose sections from the Mass for the Dead that focus on consolation, omitting the fiery Dies irae and adding the peaceful In Paradisum for the final movement. Throughout the work, the delicate textures and chant-like simplicity of the music create a surprisingly powerful effect.   

The Introit et Kyrie begins with a mysterious hush before opening into a warmer lilting melody. The chorus enters alone in a beautifully serene moment of the Offertoire and the baritone solo is reverent over a swaying string accompaniment. Fauré’s transparent orchestration is used to remarkable effect as a solo violin soars above the murmuring Sanctus and rich brass join in the phrase “Hosanna in excelsis.” Plucked strings and restless brass create the Requiem’s darkest moments as the baritone pleads for deliverance in Libera me. The final In Paradisum is a vision of tranquility, with harp and organ playing a repetitive figure as soprano voices rise above the texture. It is an utterly peaceful depiction of Fauré’s belief that death can be seen as “an aspiration to happiness above rather than as a painful experience.”  

EDWARD ELGAR  
Variations on an Original Theme, Op. 36, “Enigma” 
BORN: June 2, 1857, in Broadheath, England 
DIED: February 23, 1934, in Worcester, England 
WORK COMPOSED: 1898–1899 
WORLD PREMIERE: June 19, 1899, in London, at St James's Hall, conducted by Hans Richter. 

What to Listen For:  

• The way Elgar uses instrumental color and motivic ideas to lovingly depict the personalities and quirks of his friends through music.  

The way Elgar uses instrumental color and motivic ideas to lovingly depict the personalities and quirks of his friends through music.  

Long after the “Enigma” Variations had established Edward Elgar as a household name and changed the course of his career, he remarked that the work began “in a spirit of humor and continued in deep seriousness.” The story goes that in October 1898, after a long day of teaching, Elgar came home and started to improvise on the piano. His wife was struck by a melody and asked him what it was. “Nothing,” Elgar replied, “but something might be made of it.” As a bit of fun, he continued to improvise, turning the melody into a series of musical sketches, each one representing a different friend, as his wife tried to guess the identity of each character. What began as a whim grew into a grand homage to the people in Elgar’s life and became one of the most popular and beloved pieces he would ever compose.  

Elgar’s love of puzzles and word games is on full display in this set of variations; at the beginning of each movement, he inscribed a set of initials or a word that hints at the identity within. Following is a brief description of each variation and its accompanying character: 

Variation I (C.A.E) flows directly from the theme and represents Elgar’s wife, Caroline Alice, with music that is tender and romantic. 

Variation II (H.D.S-P) depicts the amateur pianist, H.D. Stewart-Powell, with whom Elgar often played chamber music. The quick disjointed phrases replicate his friend warming up on the piano before a rehearsal.  

Variation III (R.B.T.) finds the bassoon featuring prominently and depicts Richard Baxter Townshend, a writer who played the role of an old man in a local theater production, an event that clearly amused Elgar.  

Variation IV (W.M.B) is a short episode full of verve. William Meath Baker was a country squire whose habit of slamming the door shut as he left a room is deftly reflected in the abrupt nature of this movement. 

Variation V (R.P.A) alternates between serene beauty and playful interjections. Richard Penrose Arnold was an amateur pianist and deep thinker. Elgar described him as “a great lover of music” whose “serious conversation was continually broken up by whimsical and witty remarks.” 

Variation VI (Ysobel) focuses on Isabel Fitton, a viola student of Elgar who struggled with her technique. Elgar highlights the viola throughout this variation, using a melodic motive from a string exercise. 

Variation VII (Troyte) is another fast-paced romp. Arthur Troyte Griffith was an architect and dear friend of Elgar whose unsuccessful attempts to learn piano ended abruptly.  

Variation VIII (W.N.) is a portrait of Winifred Norbury and her elegant countryside house. The music is sedate and mannered, like the home she inhabited, while her laugh is revealed in the cackling woodwinds.  

Variation IX (Nimrod) is dedicated to Elgar’s publisher, August Jaeger, who was a close confidant and loyal supporter. Elgar described this music as a “record of a long summer evening talk, when my friend discoursed eloquently on the slow movements of Beethoven.” This movement is a moving testimony to an enduring friendship. 

Variation X (Dorabella) is a charming diversion related to Dora Penny, a close friend whose youthful stutters are heard in the woodwinds.  

Variation XI (G.R.S) belongs to George Robertson Sinclair, organist of Hereford Cathedral, but the music reflects an episode in which his bulldog, Dan, fell down a riverbank, then paddled upstream to find a landing place where he let out a rejoiceful bark.  

Variation XII (B.G.N.): Basil G. Nevison was an amateur cellist and devoted friend who played music with Elgar. The soaring cello melody pays tribute to this serious and thoughtful man.  

Variation XIII (***): The mysterious asterisks replace the name of Lady Mary Lygon, a noblewoman who was on a sea voyage to Australia when Elgar wrote this piece. The clarinet plays a quote from Mendelssohn’s Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Overture, while a distant drumroll evokes a ship’s engine.  

Variation XIV (E.D.U.): Though not his initials, the letters of the inscription spell out Alice’s nickname for Edward. This finale is a bold self-portrait of the composer as he recalls earlier themes and unites his friends with music that ends in a grand and joyous statement.  

Catherine Case © 2024  

Catherine Case is a writer and editor based in the Midwest. Her program notes appear in publications for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Seattle Symphony, among others. As a professional harpist, Catherine has held positions with the São Paulo State Symphony, Singapore Symphony and Sarasota Orchestra.