Cantique de Jean Racine

Carol ine Ask Lton (so
Steph .en Varc :oe (bar
Sirno1 I' Standage (solo violin)
The C :ambridge Singers
. -r
nnpm~ers of the Citv of London smtoni;
icted b:
. ,\
Total playing time 63' 17''
Requiem
1893 version edited by John Rutter
Total 34' 34"
IntroYt et I(yrie
Offertoire
Sanctus
Pie Jesu
Agnus Dei
Libera me
In paradisum

Ave verum Corpus, Op. 65, No. l(1894) (3' 37")
for sopranos, altos and organ
Tantum ergo, Op. 65, No. 2 (1894) (2' 28")
for sopranos, altos and organ
Soloists: Ruth Holton, Nicola-Jane Kemp, Melanie Marshall
Ave Maria, Op. 67, No. 2 (1894) (1' 55")
for solo voice and organ (performed by sopranos and altos)
Maria, Mater gratiae, Op. 47, No. 2 (1888) (2' 49")
for sopranos, altos and organ
Cantique de Jean Racine, Op. 11 (1865) (6' 40")
for mixed choir and organ or piano
(Accompaniment transcribed for violas, cellos, basses and harp by John Rutter)
Messe Basse (1881-1906)
for sopranos, altos and organ
Soprano solo: Ruth Holton
I(yrie eleison
Sanctus
I@ Benedictus
Agnus Dei
(Total 10' 15")
The Faurk Requiem, edited by John Rutter, as performed on this recording, is published in
the USA by Hinsha~v Music, Inc. (P.O. Box 470, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514).
Elsewhere in the world it is published by Oxford University Press (Great Clarendon Street,
OX2 6DP, England). A Wer discussion of the sources and editorial method is
contained in the preface to this edition.

"Hearing Faurt's Ryrriem as he intended it instrumentation is restrained and mellowv:
to be performed would be a revelation to dividedviolas and cellos, basses, harp, timpani
most people." - Robert Orledge, Gabriel and organ, with a solo violin in the Snnctlts.
Fn'nnr;, p. 110
The strings - probably no more than a
handfid at the first performance - mostly
double the organ, which plays throughout
It is one of musical history's mischances that like a Baroque continuo.
the Faurt Reqrriem was for almost a century Faurt then prepared an expanded version,
known and performed only in a version with first given in January 1893. This included two
fidl orchestra for which Faurt was very possi- extra movements, the Offertoire (written in
bly not responsible; the composer's original 1889) and the Libera me, both calling for
version of the work wvith instrumental ensem- baritone solo; the Libevn me, dating from
ble remained unpublished and, until this 1877, was originally an independent
recording, wvas unperformed since his lifetime. composition for baritone and organ. The
Behind this neglect lies a fascinating story. instrumentation wvas also expanded for the
Faurk began work on the Reqzrierrt in 1887 1893 performance: Faurk added horn and
purely, in his own words, 'for the pleasure of trumpet parts to his earlier manuscript, and
it', though the death of his father in 1885 and violins were incorporated in the In Pnradimm.
of his mother avo years later may well have The trumpet parts are fragmentary and
lent impetus to the composition. He wvas 42 unimportant, but the horns have an essential
years of age, choirmaster at the fashionable role in the Libern me and a useful one
church of the Madeleine in Paris, and gaining elsewhere; their fanfare-like figure in the
a growing reputation as a composer. He com- Snnctus is hard to imagine left out, in fact.
pleted the work early in 1888 and directed The third version of the Reqrriern - the
the premiere on 16th January of that year; the familiar one wvith fdl orchestra - received its
occasion wvas a funeral service at the premiere in July 1900 at the Trocadkro
Madeleine. This 'first version' (of which the Palace under the conductor Taffanel;
manuscript of all but the Pie Jesrr survives) shortly afterwards Hamelle published vocal
consisted of five movements: the Introit et and orchestral scores. How and wvhy this
ICyrie, Snnctry Pie Jest4 Agnrrs Dei and In third version came about is not clear. In
Paradisilm - a personal selection of texts lay- 1898 Faurt wrote to Hamelle promising to
ing emphasis on rest and peace wvith no prepare the Requiem for publication but
reference to the Day of Judgement. The asking ifhe could delegate the piano reduction
W

for the vocal score to someone else (his horn parts also seem to represent genuine secstudent
Roger-Ducasse~vas entrustedwvith the ond thoughts on Faurk's part. At the same
task). No question of reorchestration was time the 1893 Requiern remains a liturgical
mentioned at this stage; possibly Hamelle later work for modest forces to perform in
urged Faur6 to rescore the work for 11l church, which is how the composer conorchestra
because it would receive more ceived it. Performing it in this form for the
performances as a concert work than as a first time in over 80 years was as exciting for
liturgical Requiem. Faur6 was at the time me as seeing an old master painting stripped
burdened with teaching and administrative of cloudy varnish and shining forth in all its
work and may or may not have delegated the pristine clarity and splendour.
rescoring to Roger-Ducasse, who is known to
have scored more than one of Fauro's works. - k * S r * * . k
At all events the published score of 1900
(for which the source manuscript is lost) is Like the Requiern, the Messe Bnsse for
extraordinarily inaccurate and fd of misprints, sopranos and altos had a complex genesis. It
which suggests that the meticulous Faur6 was originally written in 1881 in collaboration
never saw printer's proofi, at least. There are, w i t h Faurc's composer-fiend Messager for a
moreover, many curious infelicities in the benefit performance at the fishing village of
scoring - for example arbitrary recasting of ViUerville here the two men were on holiday:
the 1893 horn parts, downwd transposition Messager wrote the I(r.ie and an 0 salrttnris,
of the ethereal high violin solo in the Snvrctrrs, Faurk wrote the Glorin, Snnctrrs and &nus
alterations of string bowing and distortion of Dei. The following year it wvas orchestrated,
the original dynamic markings -which seem again in collaboration; then in 1906 Faurk disto
betray an inexperienced hand. Above all, carded Messager's ICyrie, substituting one of
the nature of the RepGent music itself seems his own, at the same time discarding his own
to call for the intimacy and clarity of a Glorin but adding a Benerlicttrs based on the
chamber ensemble rather than 11l symphonic Q~ti tollis section of it. He also recast for
forces which would swamp a choir such as the organ the original accompaniment of harmodest-sized
group of boys and men at the monium and violin. In this final form the
Madeleine for whom the work was written. Messe Bnsse was published in 1907.
The ideal Reqrriern version seems to me to
be that of 1893. The two extra movements in Faurt wrote over a dozen other sacred choral
it are surely worth including, and the added pieces which span the first forty years of his

career. The earliest published one was the
Cnntiqtre de Jenrz Rncine, written in 1865
for a competition at the Ecole Niedermeyer
where the 20-year-old Faurt was a student;
it won first prize. The later pieces - almost
all of them Latin motets - were, like the
Messe Basse, essentially simple and practical,
well-suited to liturgical use. This simplicity
is, however, deceptive: both the Messe Bnsse
and such expertly-wrought miniatures as the
four motets here recorded bear Faurt's
unmistakable stamp-in their gentle
expressiveness unblemished by the cloying
sentimentality of so much nineteenthcentury
church music, in their harmonic
subtlety, and in their skilful avoidance of the
predictably obvious. Above all, Faurt's
instinct for vocal writing ensures melodies
that are as grateful for the singer as they are
heart-easing for the listener. The popularity
of the Reqiriem and the relative obscurity of
Faure's other choral music has tended to
encourage a view that the Reqirienz was an
isolated miracle in the composer's choral
output; but the fact that so many of FaurC's
fingerprints are also apparent in the Messe
Bnsse and the motets not only sheds valuable
light on the Reqiriern but gives them their
own intrinsic interest and appeal. If it
remains true that the Requiem is the
mountain peak of Faurt's choral
achievement, nevertheless the foothills offer
both beauty and refreshment.
JOHN R UTTER
The Cambridge Singers
Tmcks 1-7 ntzd 12:
Sopranos: Caroline Ashton, Ruth Holton, Celia Jackson, Marcelle Mace, Sione Mace,
Jo Maggs, Jocelyn Miles, Nancy-Jane Rucker, Mary Seers, Clare Wallace
Altos: Alex Donaldson, Diana Hawker, Mary Hitch, Melanie Marshall, Mary Mure, Sara Tunnidifi
Tenors: Harvey Brough, David Dunnett, Mark Padmore, Philip Sheffield, Jeremy Taylor,
Roland Vernon, David Watson
Basses: Gerald Finley, Charles Gibbs, Nicholas Jones, James Mure, Rory Phillips, Charles Pott,
Christopher Purves, Russell Watson
Trnch 8-1 1 and 13-1 6:
Sopranos: Caroline Ashton, Ruth Holton, Karen Kerslake, Simone Mace, Jocelyn Miles,
Mary Mure, Mary Seers, Alison Smart, Clare Wallace, Susanna Watson
Altos: Nicola Barber, Peter Gritton, Mary Hitch, Nicola-Jane Kemp, Melanie Marshall,
Susanna Spicer

Requiem
IntroYt et Kyrie
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Te decet hymnus, Deus in Sion: et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.
Exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis car0 veniet.
Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.
(Rest eter~zal~rant therrr, Lord orrr God, me pray to thee: and light perpetiral forever shine on them.
Thort, 0 God, art worshipped in holy Sion: tinto thee the vow shall be perfornled in Jertsnlern.
Hear tts, Lord; Lurd) hear thy serva,nlzts'prnyer: Lord, tr~zto thee allflesh shall come.
ICyrie eleisorr. Cbriste eleisorz. I(yrie eleison.)
Offertoire
0 Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas defimctorum de poenis inferni, et de
profimdo lacu:
0 Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas dehctorum de ore leonis, ne absorbeat
tartarus:
0 Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, ne cadant in obscurum.
Hostias et preces tibi Domine laudis offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie
memoriam ficimus.
Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini eius.
0 Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas defimctorum de poenis inferni, et de
profimdo lacu: ne cadant in obscurum. Amen.
(Lord Jestcs Cbrist, tho14 thnt rtrlest irz majesty, Ofree the sottls of thy fnithfirl rlepartedfronz
torment eternal, nndfrot~z the fntho~nless tvnters: h d Jesfrs Christ, thou that rrtlest in nmjeesty,
Ofree the sotrls of thy faithfill depnrtedfionz olrt of the lion's jaw, lest they dro~va in the depths of
hell: Lord Jesra Christ, tho~c thnt milest itz majesty, 0 save then8 from trtter darktress. Hear orrr
prayer arzd let our cry come uwto thee; God orir Father, boom thilze enr: :.we pray this day for all the
souls departed; 0 renrenzber them, Lord, tve pray. Gant them) Lord, delivera~zce fiowz death tinto
life, we pray thee) as of old thou hast promised to olrr fathers, Ahham and his seed. Lord Jenbs
Chvist) thou thnt rulest iz ~najesty, free the sortls of thy fnithfirl depavtedfiom tornzent eternal,
and from the fathornless waters. Save them, 0 Lord,frorn the dnrhness of hell. Amen.)

Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua. Hosanna in excelsis. Sanctus.
(Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth areJirll of thy~lor~ 0 Lord. Hosnntta
in the h&hest. Holy.)
Pie Jesu
Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem.
Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis sempiternam requiem.
(Blessed Jesft, Lord, Iprny, in thy mercyflrnnt them rest. 0 blessed Jeszt, Lord, Iprny, in thy
nzercypttt them everlasti~ rest.)
Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis sempiternam requiem.
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: Cum sanctis tuis in aeternum, quia pius es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
(Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: O~rant them rest for evermore. Hear trs,
hear zis, 0 Lnr11b of God: we pray thee, Saviour of all the world, Opnt
thetrt eternal rest.
Lamb of God, who takest anwy orrr sins, O~rant them eternal rest; peace be with thein
evermore. Lt3htperpetnal shine rtpon them, Lord, me pray: with all thy saints in ertdless~lory,
for thy tender ~nercy'sake. Rest eternalflrant thew, Lord ortr God, ae prny to thee: and l&ht
perpetrral forever shine on them.)
Libera me
Libera me, Domine, de morte aetema, in die illa tremenda:
Quando coeli movendi sunt et terra: dum veneris judicare saeculum per ignem.
Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, durn discussio venerit, atque ventura ira.
Dies illa, dies irae, calamitatis et miseriae, dies magna et amara valde.
Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.

(Lord, Ipray, deliver me flom death3 everlasti~gfire ow thntjreat Day of J~rrlg-enent, on that
lnst dreadfifirl day: When the earth and the henv'rts shall shake and tremble, aaltd thou shalt
come with thy nt~hty flnminjfire of judjement. Treinblilg) trernblirg I stand before thee in
fear and dread: thy wrath shall descetad on the earth and britg all flesh to desolation. Day of
trinl, day of judae~ment, death and destruction, torment nrzd distress: day of atger, rlny of
venjeance, hy of mortrninj, of woe and bitterjrief: Rest eternaljrnrtt thein. Lord our God)
we pray to thee, and 1z)ht perpetual shim ever on tbem.)
In paradisum
In paradisum deducant angeli: in tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in
civitatem sanctam Jerusalem. Chorus angelorum te suscipiat, et cum Lazaro quondam
paupere aeternam habeas requiem.
(God3 holy anjels lead you to paradise: may saints in theirjlory receive you at your joxrney's
etad) jttiditg yortr footsteps into the Holy City Jerusalem. Choirs of a~gelsin8 you to your rest:
a~zd with Lnzarics raised to eternal life, may you for evermore rest in peace.)
(Trntrslntion by John Rutter O 1984 Hinsbnm Music, Inc.)
Ave verum Corpus
Ave verum Corpus, natum
De Maria Virgine,
Vere passum, immolatum
In cruce pro homine.
Cuius latus perforatum
Unda fluxit sanguine;
Esto nobis praegustatum,
Mortis in examine.
0 Jesu, Jesu dulcis,
0 Jesu, Jesu pie,
0 Jesu, fili Mariae,
Tu nobis miserere. Amen
(Seyttence hymn for thew of Corprrs Christi)
(Hail, true body of Christ
Born of the Virjin Mary,
Who truly st@fered, sncrzficed
Or& the cross for mn~lrind.
From whose pierced side
Flowed water and blood;
Be our consolation
In death's orrlenl.
0 Jesu, sweet Jesu)
0 Jesu, holy Jesu,
0 Jesit, sort of Mary)
Have mercy rbpon us. Amen.)

Tantum ergo
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui,
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui.
Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio;
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio. Amen.
(St Thornas Aqzrinas, 1227-74)
Ave Maria
Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum;
benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jesus.
Sancta Maria Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
(Therejke we, before him bend in^,
This~reat Sacrameat revere;
Types and shadolvs have their ewdin~,
For the nnver rite is here.
Glory let rrs~ive, nnd blessitg
To the Father and the Son;
Hononl; a@ht and praise nddressin~
While eternal aaes rttn;
Ever too his love coiafessing
Who flona both, vith both is owe. Amen.)
(Hail Mary,firll of~race, the Lord is with thee; Blessed art thorr amoig wornen, and blessed is
the flftit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, riaother of God, pray for rdssinners, now and at the
horir of our denth. Awten.)
iij Maria, Mater gratiae
Maria, Mater gratiae,
Dulcis Parens clementiae,
Tu nos ab hoste protege,
Et mortis hora suscipe.
Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et almo Spiritu,
In sempiterna saecula. Amen.
(Cantas diversi in honorein B. M. IT)
(Mwy~rncio~u mothev,
Sweet fonrzt of mercy,
Protect zrs fiana the foe
and receive fu in our hozw of death.
Jesw, born of the Virgin,~lory be to thee
with the Father and the Holy Spirit
For ever and evev. Amen.)

a Cantique de Jean Racine
Verbe tgal au Ti-6.-Haut, notre unique esptrance,
lour tternel de la terre et des cieux,
(Worrl of God, one with the Most H&hJ in 116m
alone ~ve have oitr /lope,
De la paisible nuit nous rompons le silence: Everhsti~g light of heaven and earth,
Divin Sauveur, jette sur nous les yeux!
We brenk the silence of the pencej~l n&ht;
R6pand.s sur nous le feu de ta g&ce puissante;
Snvioftr divine, cnst thbe eyes npon ~u!
Que tout I'enfer lie au son de ta voix; Poftr on iw theJive of thy mightyarace,
Dissipe le sommeil d'une h e languissante, Tlhnt all hell rnnyfTee nt the sorrnd of thy voice:
Qui la conduit 1 l'oubli de tes lois!
Bnwish the slftrnber ofn weary sozrl,
0 Christ, sois favorable i ce peuple fidle
That brirgs frn~etfi~beu of thy laws!
Pour te btnir maintenant rassemblt; 0 Chrirt, look with fnvor~r rcpm1 thy faithfrrlpeoph
Reqois les chants qu'i ofie 1 ta gloire immortelle; Now~athered here topnise thee;
Et de tes dons qu'il retourne comblt!
Receive their hymns offered to thy enrllessalor~
(from Hpntres madftites dt4 brkiaire romnin) Mny they~ofivthfilled with thyjtfi.)
Messe Basse
1. Kyrie eleison
IZyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison. (Lord have mercy. Christ hnve mercy. Lord
have vrtercy.)
2. Sanctus
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. (Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts. Heaven
Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
and earth nre full of thyglory. Hosnnnn in
the hhhest.)
3. Benedictus
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. (Blessed is he who cortzeth in the nnme ofthe M)
4. Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccam mu&, miserere nobis. (Lamb ofGod, that tnkest nway the sins ofthe
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mu&, miserere nobis. world, have mercy ftpott rw. (Repent)Lanzb of
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccaa dona nobis God, that takest away the sins ofthe world, h n t
its pence.)

instrumental ensemble, other items by sopranos, altos and organ.