In this episode, host Ross S. Bish MM CAGS completes the journey through Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48 — the work at the heart of the Fauré Arc. We pause briefly with the intimate, ethereal Pie Jesu before moving into the Agnus Dei, one of the most quietly devastating movements in the choral canon. From there, a final shadow falls in the Libera Me — before the series arrives at its destination: the luminous, consoling In Paradisum. This is the sound of a soul moving from darkness into light.

Music Credits:

Gabriel Fauré — Requiem, Op. 48

• Pie Jesu — Chœurs Elizabeth Brasseur, dir. André Cluytens (1963)
• Agnus Dei — Chœurs Elizabeth Brasseur, dir. André Cluytens (1963)
• Libera Me — Chœurs Elizabeth Brasseur, dir. André Cluytens (1963)
• In Paradisum — Union Chorale de la Tour de Peilz, dir. Robert Mermoud (1955)

Gabriel Fauré's Requiem is unlike any other. Not the terrifying requiem of judgment and damnation. Not the monumental drama of Verdi or the tragic weight of Mozart. But a requiem that begins in grief and ends in paradise — one that Fauré himself described as a lullaby of death.

In Episode Three we begin our journey through this extraordinary work. We explore the life and musical world of Gabriel Fauré, and we move through two of the Requiem's choral movements — the Introit et Kyrie and the Sanctus. The darkness named. And the first glimpse of light.

The Choral Canon — where every voice tells a story.

Recordings Featured in This Episode:

Fauré, Gabriel — Requiem, Op. 48
Introit et Kyrie | Offertory Amen (clip) | Sanctus
Chœurs Elizabeth Brasseur, conducted by André Cluytens
Recorded 1963 — Public Domain
Source: IMSLP — https://clara.imslp.org/work/21398?imslpIndex=581185

What happens when longing becomes anguish? When the soul has been waiting so long that its only sustenance is its own tears? In Episode Two of The Choral Canon, Where Longing Arrives, host Ross S. Bish, MM, CAGS returns to Psalm 42 with Palestrina's Sitivit Anima Mea, the powerful companion to Sicut Cervus. And then, a nineteenth century Austrian composer answers the psalm's darkest question with three of the most certain words ever set to music. This place was made by God. Two pieces. One complete arrival.

Recordings from today’s episode are taken from the Public Domain Internet Archives.

What does it mean to long for something so deeply that it moves you to tears? In Episode One of The Choral Canon — Where Longing Rests — host Ross S. Bish, MM, CAGS explores two masterworks of the late Renaissance that ask exactly that question. Palestrina's Sicut Cervus reaches toward God with aching, flowing polyphony. Monteverdi's Ecco Mormorar L'onde reaches toward the beauty of the natural world at dawn. Two composers. Two kinds of longing. One choral tradition that holds them both.

Sicut Cervus recording is from the Pennsylvania Collegiate Choral Association festival 2010 under the direction of Paul Salamunovich.

Ecco Mormorar L’onde recording is from the Public Domain Archives.

Host Ross S. Bish, MM, CAGS introduces himself, the show, and the mission behind it: to bring listeners inside the history, the text, and the artistry of choral music. Whether you are a lifelong choral singer, a conductor, or simply someone who suspects there might be something in this music for you, this is your invitation. Episode One drops soon.