Requiem in C (Score)
Description
- the first critical edition of the last work by Gounod
- detailed foreword in three languages
- critical Report with information about the source situation and the edition, and containing the individual readings (alternative readings, etc.)
Charles Gounod composed this Requiem under the impact of the
death of his four-year-old grandson, Maurice. According to
information handed down, while finishing the details of this work
he was overtaken by death. It was published posthumously in various
constellations by his pupil, Henri Busser, but the only complete
version from the pen of Gounod is the version for large orchestra,
which is published here for the first time in a critical
edition.
Gounod's Requiem, unlike many contemporary settings of the Mass
of the Dead, is not characterized by darkness and terror. Rather,
with all of its trepidation - expressed through a marked
chromaticism - an atmosphere of hopeful expectation, of trust in
the grace and equity of the divine judge predominates. This
confidence finds its expression in the choice of the fundamental
key of C major, which is rather unusual for a requiem. The work was
given an impressive performance on the occasion of the first
anniversary of Gounod's death in the Parisian church of
Sainte-Madeleine under the direction of Gabriel Fauré and it was
highly acclaimed by the contemporary press.