Chorale Coeur d'Alene finds comfort in a pair of requiems

Singers of the Chorale Coeur d’Alene will present two requiems — one more than 100 years old and the other brand new — at concerts in Coeur d’Alene March 23 and 24.

The works will be repeated in the Chorale’s first concert at the Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox in Spokane on Sunday, April 8.

French composer Gabriel Faure’s “Requiem in D Minor,” written in the late 1800s and first published in 1900, is the focus for the first half of the concert.

And the young American composer, Dan Forrest, is featured in the second half with his “Requiem for the Living,” which has become wildly popular with choruses around the world since its publication in 2013.

While the word “requiem” may be off-putting for some concert-goers, Chorale Artistic Director Stan McDaniel said the two major works are anything but glum or morose and judgmental.

Both Faure and Forrest, McDaniel said, “shifted the focus from death, judgment and the need for repentance to hope and the promise of eternal life.”

Forrest agrees. “The work is a prayer for rest for the living as much as for the deceased,” he said. “It’s a ‘grant us rest,’ even more than a ‘grant them rest.’”

Both works are described as lush and filled with beautiful melodies. However, Forrest got a bit mischievous in the second movement of his work, saying he wanted “to write something stern or even a bit ‘nasty,’ instead of sicky-sweet or sappy.”

His “Sanctus” section was inspired by images of deep space captured by the Hubble telescope.

Forrest’s closing section, McDaniel said, “portrays light, peace and rest — for both the living and the dead.”

For the concerts in Coeur d’Alene and Spokane, the Chorale’s 70 singers will be complemented by 21 instrumentalists, many of whom are present or past members of the Spokane Symphony, and by the Chorale’s resident accompanist, David Brewster.

Chorale Coeur d’Alene has been promoting quality choral music from its inception in 2001. The nonprofit’s primary focus is presenting beautiful and uplifting sacred music, based on the belief that music is an art form that transcends all boundaries of religious creeds — bringing unity, peace and joy to all who attend Chorale concerts.

For complete information about the concert season, soloists, the Chorale and its artistic Director visit www.choralecda.com.