Fauré: Requiem by Candlelight
Enjoy a stunning performance of Gabriel Fauré’s ethereal and uplifting setting of Requiem Op.48 in the evocative candlelit setting of St Mary Le Strand, James Gibbs’ baroque masterpiece and arguably the most beautiful of the Queen Anne Churches. Faure’s setting is paired with Herbert Howells‘ powerful and intensely personal Requiem.
Gabriel Fauré has been described as “the most advanced composer of his generation in France” and Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians asserts that that “his harmonic and melodic innovations influenced the teaching of harmony for later generations”. His setting of the Requiem was not composed to the memory of a specific person but, in Fauré’s words “for the pleasure of it.”
It was once thought that Herbert Howells composed his Requiem after the death of his nine-year-old son in 1935, but in fact it was written a few years earlier and remained unpublished until 1980. Howells later associated the work with his son’s memory, incorporating much of it into Hymnus Paradisi, the larger-scale memorial he wrote for Michael.
Starting at 8.30pm, concert-goers have time for an early supper beforehand. The performance will last about 70 minutes, without interval.
Featuring
The L’Inviti Singers
with Alexander Pott (organ)
Directed by David Guest
Programme
Requiem – Herbert Howells
Requiem Op.48 – Gabriel Fauré
The L’Inviti Singers are one of the UK’s best-kept choral secrets. For many years this choir could only be heard at exclusive private events across the UK and further afield, but across this year the choir is for the first time undertaking a series of public concerts at St Mary le Strand. The choir is handpicked from singers from the country’s top chamber choirs including Tenebrae, The Sixteen and the Monteverdi Choir. Here’s a short video from an earlier concert at St Mary le Strand.
The choir is accompanied by organist Alexander Pott. A former organ scholar of Christ Church, Oxford, and between 2017 and 2024 Assistant Organist at Magdalen College, Oxford, Alexander is currently researching for his PhD at Cambridge University.
The performance is directed by David Guest, Director of the Christopher Wood Choral Foundation who are in residence at St Mary le Strand.
Buy your tickets for the Fauré Requiem by candlelight here
Email emma.drury@guestartists.co.uk for further info
PS – If you would like restaurant suggestions, here are a few of our favourites. None are more than five minutes’ walk from the church:
- Franco Manca (pizza): 1-5 Catherine Street, WC2B 5JZ – book a table here
- Banana Tree (Thai): 34 Wellington Street, WC2E 7BD – book a table here
- Côte (French brasserie): 17-21 Tavistock Street, WC2E 7PA – book a table here
- Dishoom (Indian): 12 Upper St Martin’s Lane, WC2H 9FB – book a table here
..and for just a drink, here are some local pubs/bars (again, less than five minutes away, and all east of the church, so tend to be a bit quieter/more peaceful than those closer to Covent Garden):
- The Cheshire Cheese: 5 Little Essex Street, WC2R 3LD – www.cheshirecheese.pub
- The George: 213 Strand, WC2R 1AP – www.georgeinthestrand.com
- Daly’s Wine Bar: 210 Strand, WC2R 1AP – www.dalyswinebar.co.uk