Faure: Requiem
Flemish Radio Choir,Hervé Niquet
Faure: Requiem
Flemish Radio Choir,Hervé Niquet
Over the last 500 years, man’s mortality has inspired a genre of unsurpassed profoundness in Western art music: whether conveying fear of death, hope of life after death, or just solace for those who stay behind, the Requiem is at once the rawest and most comforting musical embodiment of the fact that life on earth is finite.
On a series of five CDs, acclaimed conductor Hervé Niquet leads the Flemish Radio Choir in new recordings of iconic Requiems (by Brahms or Mozart), but he also delves into unjustly neglected music for the departed, such as the masses by Maurice Duruflé (1947) or Alfred Desenclos (1963).
The most imminent release in the series features the well-known Messe de Requiem by Gabriel Fauré (1888), which - recorded in the original chamber version with soloists of the Brussels Philharmonic - bears heart-warming testimony to Fauré’s desire to write “a lullaby of death, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than a painful experience”.
Though nothing comes easier than eternal rest after Fauré’s lament, Ein Deutsches Requiem by Brahms - which will be the second instalment in the series - is worth a little longer sojourn on earth…
Track listing:
Fauré: Requiem, Op. 48
Gounod: Ave verum in E flat major
Les sept paroles du Christ sur la croix
Review
Alexandra Mathew
Fauré’s Requiem is masterpiece. Robust as it is intimate, the combination of choir, soloists, organ, and orchestra creates astonishing dramatic impact. Fauré worked on the setting over a thirteen-year period, during which time it received at least three performances. The original five-movement version, titled Un Petit Requiem, was performed at an architect’s funeral, conducted by the composer and with treble soloist in the famous ‘Pie Jesu’. ‘Robust as it is intimate, the combination of choir, soloists, organ, and orchestra creates astonishing dramatic impact.’
This new recording, conducted by Hervé Niquet and featuring the Flemish Radio Choir and Brussels Philharmonic, seems closer to the second iteration of the work, complete with seven movements and larger orchestral and choral forces. There are some unusual features, the most obvious being a group of sopranos performing ‘Pie Jesu’, which is usually the preserve of either soprano or treble soloist. However, different doesn’t necessarily mean worse, and the fullness of women’s sound, while without the purity of a single voice, lends a lusciousness to the movement it often otherwise lacks. Baritone Andrew Foster-Williams gives his operatic all in ‘Libera Me’, a highlight of the work and of this particular CD.
The recording occasionally features idiosyncratic Latin pronunciation, which is again a difference rather than a deficit. The following ‘Ave Verum’ and ‘Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross’, both by Gounod, although less grand than the Fauré, are still dramatic and grave, exquisitely performed by the Flemish Radio Choir. The absence of orchestra highlights the precision and delicious blend of the choir, and their capacity for well-controlled dynamic variation.
If you are a stickler for the pure, English brand of choral music, this is not the recording for you. However if, like me, you love the sound of a full-bodied choir with a luscious soprano section balanced out by a dramatic and weighty bass, then your record collection is not complete without this fantastic CD.
This item is not currently in-stock. It can be ordered online and is expected to ship in approx 4 weeks
Our stock data is updated periodically, and availability may change throughout the day for in-demand items. Please call the relevant shop for the most current stock information. Prices are subject to change without notice.
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to a wishlist.