Title : Faure: Requiem and Franck: Symphony in D Minor
Author : Gabriel Faure
Release Date : 20020611
Binding : Audio CD
Regular Price : $19.98
Amazon.com Price : $17.55
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Editorial Reviews : This CD presents Fauré's Requiem in the fully orchestrated version of 1901, though it's played on period instruments, so it seems much leaner than other recorded versions, such as Chung's on DG. This beautiful work has been accused of being too sentimental, and indeed, it is just that syrupiness that can make it appealing. But Herreweghe keeps the tempi on the quick side, while emphasizing some of the score's darker moments--the 'Dies irae' in the 'Libera me' is wonderfully grim--and it's very effective. The use of a harmonium instead of an organ (approved by Fauré) adds even more flavor to the already emphasized winds, and the singing, from soloists and chorus, is ideal. The Franck D Minor Symphony, a sort of grand bonus, is handsomely played, also on period instruments, which allow this sometimes overly orchestrated work to seem more transparent, more classical. The CD is recommended from start to finish.
Buyer Reviews : Making fun of the 'authenticist' movement is still easy enough if you feel the need to, though performance standards are by now so high and so far removed from the struggling off-key trumpets and underpowered violins of the pioneering years that the most violent criticisms have died down long since. Still, who was it who wondered sarcastically how long it would be before we would have to put up with authentic Mahler and Stravinsky? Well, after Norrington tackling Brahms, Herreweghe has advanced as far as Fauré, so we should be getting there any time now! And I'll be the first to investigate the results. Actually I already heard Herreweghe conduct an authentically informed Bruckner 7th, which was a revelation to say the least. Every time I encounter another major 19th century masterpiece in 'period performance', I get that feeling of looking up for the first time at the cleaned-up Sistine Chapel frescoes, stunningly bright and clear, after having been deluded for years into believing that all those dark umbers (and loincloths!) actually came from Michelangelo's palette. I got that feeling over and over again while listening to this amazing recording. There is a clarity here, a transparency and architectural poise that is unmatched in any recording I know of the Requiem. The choir deserves at least as much of the credit as the orchestra, the 'authentic-ness' of its singing recognisable in the very clear and sharp attack, perfect intonation and rhythmic precision. Yet there is all the power you could wish for as well, and no lack of feeling at all (nor in the orchestra, I should add). The difference is that it never keels over into the sentimental, as traditional performances too easily do. Be warned though that another authenticist trait of this recording is the use of French pronunciation of the Latin text, which is what Fauré would have imagined. So you get 'Zjésü' instead of 'Jesou', and you will see a 'lüx perpétüa' illuminating the dead rather than the more familiair 'loux perpertoua'. It is somewhat unsettling at first, but I got used to it fairly quickly. There are a few drawbacks, inevitably, but they are minor ones. I wasn't totally convinced by the contribution of soprano Johanette Zomer (which is, her being Dutch like myself, a very unchauvinistic observation): to my ears she sounds a bit strained and tense in the Pie Jesu, with a very quick vibrato towards the end of each phrase that struck me as slightly mannered. Her performance is by no means unfeeling though, and her intonation is impeccable. Furthermore, I wonder why Herreweghe opted for a harmonium instead of an organ. Fauré approved the use of a large harmonium in case an organ wasn't available, but I would guess that when planning a recording it shouldn't be too hard to find a location that does have an organ. Apparently Herreweghe prefers the harmonium sound; if that is so, I beg to differ. There is something rickety about these rattling keys, that disturb the paradisal peace with weird percussive accents (if there are harmoniums in Heaven, which I hope not, they're surely well-oiled?). The wheezy, somewhat asthmatic sound has a comical effect at times (which I presume was not intended), again most disturbingly in the In Paradisum, which is made to sound almost frivolous. But none of this makes this recording less worthwhile, and then there is the fill-up, which is certainly very generous: Franck's Symphony in D. If ever there was a piece of music that could do with some serious dusting, it is this. Under Herreweghe it finally sounds like something else than a lesser work by a very young Bruckner. I'm almost tempted to call it light-footed, not a word that springs to mind easily with Franck, and it definitely is very energetic and uplifting - though the Finale remains rather 'much of a muchness'. The Symphony makes a surprisingly apt counterpart to the Requiem, belonging audibly to the same soundworld. The sombre opening for a moment tricks you into believing that Fauré
