The Requiem "composed for no particular purpose…", as Gabriel Fauré wrote, was performed for the first time in the Madeleine Church in Paris on 16 January 1888, "for the funeral of some parishioner"! It is this original performance version, without the Offertory and the Libera me, with accompaniment provided only by a string ensemble (violas, cellos, and double bass), organ, and harp, that is presented here in a world premiere recording. The Messe des pêcheurs de Villerville (1881), composed in Normandy in collaboration with André Messager, is far removed from the solemnities of the great Parisian church; its original version was written for women's voices with harmonium and violin accompaniment. The Chœur de Chambre de Namur invites us to return to these origins as we mark the centenary of Gabriel Fauré's death in 1924.