Requiems for November: Week Four

Requiem by Charles Gounod (1818-1893)

Gounod composed this Requiem after the death of his four-year-old grandson, Maurice. He himself died upon its completion and was given a State funeral in the Paris church of La Madeleine. On the first anniversary of the composer's death, and in the same church, his Requiem was sung under the direction of Gabriel Fauré. This performance took place in La Madeleine on the 200th anniversary of Gounod's birth.