During the challenging times of the pandemic lockdown, there were a variety of ways to musically manage the difficulties. Sometimes it was hearing great jazz, like the always inspiring Love Supreme by John Coltrane, or the transportive Hindustani ragas of India, or the impressive return of Cabaret Voltaire through the recently released Shadow of Fear album. Music is mood, so whatever it took to make the day a little better was what was heard.
A number of times during the last fourteen or so months, another unexpected (or was it?) source of sounds was Gabriel Fauré's Requiem presented, along with other religious choral music and the "Cantique de Jean Racine," in this Collegium Records release by The Cambridge Singers and members of the City of London Sinfonia. This musical form, of course, is the form a Roman Catholic mass for the eternal peaceful rest of the dead, but there is a core element of hope for the repose of the soul. So, while not necessarily uplifting in sound, a requiem is fundamentally positive in intent.
Unlike other requia this listener has heard, particularly that of Mozart, who was working on it when he died, or that from Verdi, both of which include powerful passages with intense dynamic and drama to stir the audience, Fauré maintains a generally even keel emotionally. There is still power and a low-key intensity to the music and choral work, as well as a great deal of beauty to accompany the pathos.
Obviously, the death toll from the pandemic is staggering and, sadly, was largely avoidable. While it wasn't as if this was in mind each time and all the way through the repeated listenings of this sublime piece, listening to Fauré's Requiem is, whatever we believe happens to us after we shift off this mortal coil, a way to remember those who have departed.
