Unbelievably, it's been nearly 19 years since Gabriel Fauré was last the subject of a Classical Clip of the Month. When he last appeared here, I regarded him as a pleasant, if somewhat innocuous, composer. In the intervening years, I've had time to reassess and my admiration for his writing has only increased. His unusual and facile use of chromaticism I find particularly intriguing, as he often uses it not to increase tension, but rather to dissipate it (often via common-tone techniques).

Recently I gave an UnGeeking Music public lecture about Mourning in Music and Fauré's most popular and famous piece, his Requiem, was one of the works I discussed. It is highly unusual in a number of ways (in each of its several versions), but it is charming nonetheless. This month I offer perhaps my least favorite part of the work, but the movement which is undeniably the best-known and most popular: the Pie Jesu.