Fauré's Requiem

[fergus]

Just before we embark upon this project I think that a little background information would be useful as it may help some people to understand the different versions that are available and why one may decide to choose one over the other. These choices are always personal and subjective but at least if one is somewhat informed then the choice may become clearer. I have quickly gleaned some information from the various liner notes that accompany the various CDs and I will add some personal comments later.


Two significant pieces of information regarding Fauré himself which are pertinent to this piece of music are:

When he came to Paris to study at the École Niedermeyer, it was then a major centre for the study of plainchant from which he took much inspiration from the simplicity of Gregorian melodies and the modal language of plainchant.

He held the post of organist at the Madeleine in Paris from 1874-1905.




When he wrote his Requiem Fauré took a conscious decision to break with the tradition of the dramatic versions of this Form; not for him were the terrors of Verdi! Fauré apparently once said that his Requiem was “not to express any terror in the face of death; [death] is a happy deliverance, a yearning for the joys of the afterlife, rather than a painful passing away”. The music never becomes terrifying. Fauré apparently said “Having long played at funerals and knowing the services by heart, I wished to do something new.” The result is a work that does not meet lithurgical requirements and it was only by special dispensation was it performed on Fauré’s own death in 1924.

Fauré began the Requiem in 1887 to commemorate the death of his father two years earlier. However, his mother died at the end of that year and he completed his first (shorter) version of the work. The Requiem was given its first performance in January 1888 at the Madeleine. By 1892 Fauré had added the Offertoire and a Libera me. In 1900 a final version, which some say Faué was not responsible, was made for full orchestra. It was apparently a suggestion from the publisher that a full orchestra version would get more performances as a concert work.

[fergus]

The first CD up from my collection is this one....






This 1977 version was recorded in a church but the acoustic is not as obvious as the later Summerly version possibly because the forces used are much larger on this recording. The singing from the Ambrosian Singers is divine and quite powerful in places yet always sensitive. Lucia Popp is radiant in her solos - truly beautiful singing. The orchestral playing is also very good.

But, for all of that, the one drawback for me that this version has is the role that the Philharmonia Orchestra has been given. This is a very intimate piece of music and the full orchestral sound (even though superbly played), for me, changes the texture of the music. Faure wrote the Requiem with limited instrumentation in mind and he did not envisage the use of large forces. This version is a very good example of the contrast between the two approaches. It is just too grand; almost on an operatic scale. I personally feel that the intimacy of the piece has been somewhat lost. Those are just my specific personal thoughts and may not be reflected by others.

It is still a very fine disc and others will love it and if one is coming to the work for the first time this would be a very good version to choose, particularly if one’s ear is not accustomed to smaller and leaner ensembles.

[dhyantyke]

Hi Fergus. Many thanks for taking the time in offering the excellent introduction and contextual information. This particular recording (and some others) are horrendously expensive (on Amazon)....unfortunately. I must have a check at the Library. I'm looking forward to your further commentaries. Much appreciated.

[Jared]

^^ you might like to keep your eye on this JEG..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faure-Requiem ... 416478ec3c

[Jose Echenique]

The Gardiner is very beautiful of course, with pristine, heavenly singing from the Monteverdi Choir, but the Herreweghe versions have a very special French quality that is very appealing. And his choir is stupendous too of course.

[fergus]

Hi Fergus. Many thanks for taking the time in offering the excellent introduction and contextual information. This particular recording (and some others) are horrendously expensive (on Amazon)....unfortunately. I must have a check at the Library. I'm looking forward to your further commentaries. Much appreciated.

That particular Davis CD can be had used for as little as £0.98 from a reputable Amazon dealer....


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... dition=all

[fergus]

The Gardiner is very beautiful of course, with pristine, heavenly singing from the Monteverdi Choir, but the Herreweghe versions have a very special French quality that is very appealing. And his choir is stupendous too of course.

That particular aspect of the Herreweghe CD would appeal to me Pepe.

[fergus]

Next up from my CD collection is this version....





Recorded in 1962 this is another large orchestra version. The recording is wonderful. Coupled with the wonderful choral singing, there is a lovely sense of gentle, restrained emotion in this recording and it sounds quite devotional. It is different in that sense from the Davis version which is also very fine but is on a “grander scale”. Along with the beautiful choral singing the singing of both de los Angeles and Fischer-Dieskau is very fine.
This is a suitably restrained performance and as such it gets more to the essence of a requiem than just another concert piece; it therefore brings a different perspective to the work for me. One definitely gets a sense of the peace that perhaps Fauré was after when listening to this version. It may be just a bit too devotional for some but it is quite a lovely performance .

[Ciaran]

I had the Cluytens on LP for years: I love it, but I love Herreweghe too!

[Ciaran]

Just raiding Wikipedia for information on the different versions.

The earliest composed music included in the Requiem is the "Libera Me", which Fauré wrote in 1877 as an independent work.

The Requiem exists in three versions.

1. The original version is the smallest, with five movements (Introit and Kyrie, Sanctus, Pie Jesu, Agnus Dei and In Paradisum), but did not include the "Libera Me". This version was first performed January 16, 1888 under the composer’s direction in La Madeleine in Paris. It is scored for
   • mixed choir
   • solo boy or female soprano
   • harp
   • timpani
   • organ
   • strings (solo violin, divided violas, divided cellos and basses)
2. In 1889, Fauré added the "Hostias" portion of the Offertory and in 1890 he expanded the Offertory and added the 1877 "Libera Me". This second version, known today as the chamber orchestra version, was premièred January 21, 1893, again at the Madeleine with Fauré conducting. This version was rediscovered, edited and championed by John Rutter in the 1980s. It is published by Oxford University Press. In addition to the new movements, this version adds the following instruments to the orchestration:
   • solo baritone (a "quiet bass–baritone, the cantor type")
   • 2 bassoons
   • 4 horns
   • 2 trumpets
3. In 1899–1900, the score was reworked for full orchestra. There is some question as to whether this was the work of Fauré himself or one of his students. This version was premiered April 6, 1900, with Eugène Ysaÿe conducting. It was the best known version until John Rutter rediscovered Fauré's original manuscript of the chamber orchestra version in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris in the early 1980s. The third arrangement adds more woodwinds, brass, and strings. This full orchestration comprises:
   • mixed choir
   • solo boy soprano
   • solo baritone
   • 2 flutes
   • 2 clarinets (only in the "Pie Jesu")
   • 2 bassoons
   • 4 horns
   • 2 trumpets (only in the "Kyrie" and "Sanctus")
   • 3 trombones
   • timpani (only in the "Libera me")
   • harp
   • organ
   • strings (with just a single section of violins, but divided violas and cellos, as before)