Gabriel Faure

Pie Jesu from Requiem, op. 48

 

Pronunciation: GAH-breel  foe-HRAY

Dates: 1845-1924

Nationality: French

Testable Title: Pie Jesu

Date Composed: 1888

Genre: Soprano Solo

Instrumentation: Soprano voice, orchestra with organ

Compare with: Verdi, Purcell, Haydn, Boulanger

Gabriel Faure is celebrated as master of French song and chamber music.  He was born in Pamiers, France.  He studied organ and choral conducting at the Ecole Neidermeyer (the Niedermeyer School) between 1854 and 1865.  He spent much of his early career working as a church musician and was influenced by the music of Camille Saint-Saens.

 

He was fascinated by the works of Wagner and Franz Liszt, but took his own distinctive approach to composition, especially in his piano accompanied songs. In 1896 he became the chief organist at Madeleine and professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire.  Among his students were Maurice Ravel and Nadia Boulanger.  He eventually became the director of the Conservatoire between 1905-1920.

 

Faure wrote relatively few large-scale works, of which the Requiem is one, and is chiefly remembered for his piano nocturnes and song cycles. His musical trademark includes delicate use of extended tonality, key modulation and beautiful unfolding melodies.  All of which he puts to use in this listening example.

 

Requiem

A Requiem Mass is a special type of Mass which is sung to celebrate the death of an individual. It gets its name from the first line of text, Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine (Grant them eternal rest, O Lord). Many composers have set music to the Requiem, the most famous by Mozart, Verdi, Berlioz, and recently Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

 

The Requiem Mass retains the Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei from the Mass Ordinary but omits the Gloria and Credo.   In their place are settings the Mass Proper, that is, texts appropriate for this particular ceremony. These include the Requiem (as mentioned above), the Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), the Domine Jesu (Lord Jesus) and Lux Aeterna (Light Eternal).  Because of the length of each of these texts, composers often break them down into individual musical movements. 

 

Faure’s Pie Jesu is one such example.  It is a setting of the last lines of the Dies Irae[1]

 

 

With its elegant melody and sparse orchestration, Faure provides us with a valuable lesson on how to construct a simple yet beautifully passionate and cohesive work using only a few simple motives.  A motif is the smallest unit of musical material which is used to construct a phrase. Phrases are then combined to construct themes or melodies.

Notice the first three measures are made up of three unique motives, labeled x, y, and z. 

The x motif (sung on the words Pie Jesu) takes up the first measure. It signals the start of the two measure phrase as well as the whole melody (labeled A). The z motif (sung on the words Dona) is made up of 1/8^th notes and begins the second and third phrases.

 

The y motif is more or less a rhythmic motif consisting of a dotted quarter note, an 1/8^th note and a half note.  That rhythm is used to close each phrase.  Try tapping out the rhythm and then see if you can count the number of times Faure uses it when you listen.  You will note that it is used every time (with only one exception) the word requiem (rest) is sung.  The notable exception is in the very last measure when Faure gives it a steady rising line back to the tonic.

 

 

His seamless orchestration of strings, harp and the “flutey” ranks of the organ emote subtle nuances to the melody and text.

 

For extra fun, find a piece of music you really like. It can be a pop song, hip-hop piece heavy metal, whatever you want.  Try to identify repeating motifs and make note of them. Then try to see how the songwriter composed the music.  Use the method I just demonstrated as a template for your analysis.