Requiem Aeternam: Fauré & Michael Haydn

York Musical Society

Fauré’s luminous Requiem will have a Yorkshire connection when it is performed by York Musical Society (YMS) on Saturday 28 March in York Minster.  The popular and well-known work will be complemented by the Requiem in C minor by Michael Haydn.

Fauré’s ever-popular and well-loved Requiem, first performed in 1890, uses a shortened version of the funeral mass and is serene, calm and peaceful – and full of haunting melodies.  Michael Haydn is the lesser-known younger brother of Josef Haydn.  His less frequently performed but exquisite Requiem is said to have inspired Mozart’s own final work. 

Tenor Robert Anthony Gardiner lives in Leeds and soprano Anna Prosser is a Choral Scholar and vocal coach at Leeds Cathedral.  They will both be singing with YMS for the first time.  Besides having sung with YMS on previous occasions, both Kate Symonds-Joy (mezzo) and Alex Ashworth (bass) also sing with Solomon’s Knot Collective, which performed at last year’s Ryedale Festival and sold out at the Early Music Centre’s Christmas Festival.

Conductor David Pipe notes that even in rehearsal, it is fascinating to hear how these two works, using much of the same liturgical text but separated by over 100 years, are so  very different in style and musical content.  This is an unusual opportunity to savour the contrasting responses of two fine composers.

Tickets are available through York Minster box office (tel:  01904 557256, www.yorkminster.org, or in person) or on the door on the night.