Customer Reviews

Faure: Requiem / Ballade in F Sharp / Cantique de Jean Racine

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This CD proves that musical life in Birmingham didn't begin with Simon Rattle. Before him there was Louis Fremaux conducting the Faure Requiem with power and conviction, eschewing all sugariness. Norma Burrows and Brain Rayner Cook aren't big-name soloists, which admittedly are nice to hear, but Burrows sings with purity and a touching simplicity, while Cook is a good example of the English oratorio baritone. Orchestra and chorus also acquit themselves well. Ideally we should have French forces with their inimitable tang, but this is an excellent bargain.

The sublime Cantique de Jean Racine is rather rushed, but given all the saccharine readings it's gotten over the years, that's not all bad. John Ogdon is soloist in the 13-minute Ballade for piano and orchestra, basically a simple song with swooning accompaniment, lovely if you haven't overdosed on sweetness by this point.

This 1977 recording of Gabriel Fauré's Requiem by the City of Birmingham Symphony and Chorus under conductor Louis Frémaux is one of the most refreshing versions of the work I have heard. I love the Fauré Requiem in a number of recordings, and one of my favorites is this one the Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields, which radiates a warm, peaceful tranquility.

This recording, however, is much darker than most others I have heard. It transforms this piece, which I always felt must be one of the lightest in the Requiem literature, into a dark, powerful, brooding piece. Quite remarkable for a recording to provide such a new experience with such a familiar work.

The two pieces that fill out the disc are also quite good. This is a great recording of the "Cantique Jean Racine", and a good performance of the less familiar "Ballade for Piano and Orchestra". I didn't care for the "Ballade" quite as much, but it is a nice piano work with some good secondary carrying on the melodic parts by the wind section.

Overall, this album is highly recommended, with a powerful reading of the Requiem that I'm sure will be playing on my stereo pretty frequently for a time.