Gabriel Fauré: Requiem, Op. 48 Version 1893/...

This performance of the Faure Requiem is a revelation. Even for those who are familiar with the work, it seems like a completely new experience. I believe that the speeds are slower than most modern performances and closer to those suggested by the composer. This, combined with exquisite singing and playing makes this a musical and emotional master-performance.

I love Faure's music and bought this disc especially for the final piece of the Messe de Requiem "In Paradisum". I could play this over and over again. Music that lifts the soul.The disc arrived on time just as promised. Excellent service.

Absolutely spot on

Faure's Requiem is one of those masterpieces that many people (myself included) encounter early on in their exploration of classical music,and forever after the tremendous and profound impact that it's blissful,heavenly harmonies make upon you becomes one of the fixed landmarks and milestones of your life.In fact,trying to imagine life now without it's sacred support within the very framework of my existence is unimaginable.Should my house ever become a raging inferno,this is one of the handful of CDs that I would brave the flames to rescue,and a desert island exile would be a living hell if this were not amongst the flotsam and jetsam that made it to the shore with me.As to the particular performance that would merit the voyage (or the risk of third degree burns !) in the first place,I'm torn between three neck and neck contenders.My first love still burns bright within my heart,and that is the excellent 1975 Daniel Barenboim interpretation of the 1901 full orchestral score.There isn't another more homogenous account in the catalogue in my opinion,and I would urge you most strongly to audition it for yourself.I absolutely dare you not to fall head over heels for it's superb blend of grandeur and spirituality.Another lovely catch that I hauled aboard during the period that I spent trawling the record shops for the hypothetical "perfect" performance,is the one under the sensitive direction of Matthew Best on the Hyperion label.This is a supremely gentle and quietly soul-seducing reading,that is almost hypnotic in it's intensity.Add to that the exquisite "Pie Jesu" of Mary Seers,and the epithet of perfect is becoming increasingly difficult to withhold.But then again the waters were muddied when I discovered this outstandingly beautiful Harmonia Mundi CD.Recorded in 1988,it is the reconstructed 1893 score,and when it comes to the Requiem,that's as original as it gets.I won't belabour you here with all the textual differences between this and the most familiar turn of the century (20th that is !) version,because my intention in this review is to communicate and pass on to you the fact that this is a wonderful performance that has given me enormous listening pleasure over the years,and continues to do so.Phillipe Herreweghe summons magical textures from the Ensemble Musique Oblique.The Choir of the Chapelle Royale would put the angels to shame,and this luminous choral halo around the Mass is only brightened by the contribution of the wonderfully named "Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Louis".The solo work is excellent,and Mary Seers has some stiff competition from the enchanting Agnes Mellon.Also distinguishing this account is the all-important closing "Amen" of the Offertory.It's one of the finest moments in the entire work,and I have to say that the forces here will absolutely entrance your ears with the poise and grace with which they negotiate the dying fall of this magical phrase.To conclude,I can only thank Heavens that house fires and desert island exiles will remain hypothetical for most of us,and therefore we can indulge ourselves with endless permutations of a particular piece of music to our heart's (or wallet's) content,and thus the agonising dilemma of been forced to choose between such equally appealing records is assuaged.Personally I positively luxuriate in the civilised company of Messrs Barenboim,Best and Herreweghe,and I'm delighted to have them as permanent house-guests.I sincerely hope that you too will find a treasured place in your heart and hearth for them,and if you at least start here with Monsieur Herreweghe,then rest assured that it's almost certainly the start of a beautiful friendship !

It's great to see this superb performance of Fauré's Requiem back in the land of the living once more.For this outing it has been shorn of the charming Messe des pêcheurs which was the filler on the original issue.Although it's a pity to lose this lovely little Mass setting,I think many collectors won't mind just been closeted with the Requiem itself.I've collected many a recording of the great man's immortal masterwork in my time,and I would certainly put the likes of Barenboim,Best,Willcocks and Gardiner on a short-list of interpretations that will disappoint no-one and delight nearly everyone.However,after having lived with Herreweghe & co for over a decade now,I feel that if I was to be exiled to that desert island,then this is the version I would take along with me.What is it then that sets this one apart from the crowd ? Perhaps it is the stark simplicity and breathtaking beauty of the 1893 score that they have gone back to for Fauré's first startlingly original thoughts that makes the difference.Not that there is anything wrong with the full orchestral score of 1901,but as the booklet notes;the latter is best suited for the concert hall whilst the former sits best in the more devotional atmosphere of a church acoustic.Maybe that is what gives this CD that rarefied,cool,clear and calm spiritual quality which surrounds your speakers like an aural halo.Or is it just the sheer quality of work from all the artists involved ? The ladies and gentlemen of Ensemble Musique Oblique play like angels and the all-important organ part is in the more than capable hands of Leo van Doeslaar.The luminous choral contribution comes from the quite excellent Choir of La Chapelle Royalle with the fantastically named "Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Louis" sweetly augmenting the higher voices.However,when it comes to a truly satisfying performance of this work we really want the baritone and soprano contributions to be of the highest order imaginable.So,you'll be delighted to hear that Peter Kooy is quite excellent in the "Hostias" and "Libera me" and Agnès Mellon gives us a "Pie Jesu" that is simply divine.She has a wonderfully child-like voice that is tempered with all the adult sensitivity and deeper insight for the emotion implicit in the text.Is this the best Pie Jesu on record ? It certainly gets my vote,unreservedly.Of his miraculous death-Mass Fauré once said,"My Requiem was not composed for anything...for pleasure,if I may venture to say so".Such understatement ! If I'd written something that would go on to enthrall and captivate generations of music-lovers as this composition has,I'd be in seventh Heaven,and no mistake ! God bless you Gabriel on behalf of an exceedingly "pleased" posterity.

My beautiful wife gets a standing ovation for buying this a little early for my birthday. She was worried I’d buy it for me 1st. Herreweghe nailed Fauré’s Requiem. Beautifully recorded sound. Favorite of the 6 I own.

J'avais envie d'entendre à nouveau ce que j'avais découvert en suivant les obsèques de J. Chirac à la télé. Très émouvant.J'ai pu l'avoir à un bon prix et rapidement via Momox.

Une écoute toute en subtilité pour un requiem qui demande un environnement calme pour l'apprécier à sa juste valeur !

A lovely recording of this piece with a simpler orchestration that makes it even more hauntingly stark.

une magnifique interprètation de ce requiem dont un athée pourrait peut-être dire (comme de certaines oeuvres de Bach) qu'il croit tandis qu'il l'écoute. La pureté de la voix d'Agnès Mellon nous emmène au paradis...