Faure\u27\u27s Requiem in Modern Musical Pedagogy

French composer Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) created works of significance to modern music performance and study. With the intent of improving music pedagogy and performance, the purpose of this research was to investigate Faure’s Requiem. The specific problems of this study were to: 1) outline the life of Gabriel Faure; 2) investigate the origins of Faure’s Requiem; and 3) analyze the Pie Jesu from Faure’s Requiem. As a French romantic composer, Faure’s composition veered from a classical ‘Requiem’ model to a more impressionistic version. His melodies and harmonic structure, rooted in a decidedly French sound and texture, included the use of chords of addition (9th, 11th, 13th) and other altered tones. The peaceful sound of repetitive notes and rhythms in the Pie Jesu create a type of text painting, representative in many of Faure’s compositions. The study of Gabriel Faure’s style and compositional approach provides composers and musicians a ‘contemporary’ model to study and emulate