Fauré Requiem at Metropolitan United

Last Thursday lunchtime’s Noon at Met concert was given by the UoT’s Schola Cantorum conducted by Daniel Taylor with Jonathan Oldengarm at Met’s very impressive organ. The music was Fauré’s rather unusual Requiem op.45.  I say unusual because it’s much more gentle and lyrical  than most, not least because there’s no Dies Irae.  That’s cut except for the Pie Jesu section.  Also it finishes with the hopeful In Paradisum from the Burial Service.  Apparently this is because Fauré was most definitely not an orthodox Catholic rather lying somewhere on a spectrum from theist to agnostic but obviously still aware that we all die and we all grieve.

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Queen of the Night Communion

There was a time when site specific productions were very much part of the Toronto opera scene but, like much else, they seemed to disappear with the pandemic.  So it was especially pleasing to see Tapestry Opera, Luminato and Metropolitan United Church combining for just such an event.

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