CD1
1	Barcarolle No. 1 in a Minor, Op. 26, Allegretto Moderato 			
2	Barcarolle No. 2 in G Major, Opus 41, Allegretto Quasi Allegro 			
3	Barcarolle No. 3 in G-Flat Major, Op. 42, Andante, Quasi Allegretto 			
4	Barcarolle No. 4 in a-Flat Major, Op. 44, Allegretto 			
5	Barcarolle No. 5 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 66, Allegretto Moderato 			
6	Barcarolle No. 6 in E-Flat Major, Op. 70, Allegretto Vivo 			
7	Barcarolle No. 7 in D Minor, Op. 90, Allegretto Moderato 			
8	Barcarolle No. 8 in D-Flat Major, Op. 96, Allegretto Moderato 			
9	Barcarolle No. 9 in a Minor, Op. 101, Andante Moderato 			
10	Barcarolle No. 10 in a Minor, Op. 104 No. 2, Allegretto Moderato 			
11	Barcarolle No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 105, Allegretto Moderato 			
12	Barcarolle No. 12 in E-Flat Major, Op. 106bis, Allegretto Giocoso 			
13	Barcarolle No. 13 in C Major, Op. 116, Allegretto
14 	Impromptu for piano No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 25	
15 	Impromptu for piano No. 2 in F minor, Op. 31		
16 	Impromptu for piano No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 34	
17 	Impromptu for piano No. 4 in D flat major, Op. 91	
18 	Impromptu for piano No. 5 in F sharp minor, Op. 102

CD2
1.	Les 4 Valses-caprices No.1 In A Major, Op.30  
2.	Les 4 Valses-caprices No.2 In D Flat Major, Op.38  
3.	Les 4 Valses-caprices No.3 In G Flat Major, Op.59  
4.	Les 4 Valses-caprices No.4 In A Flat Major, Op.62  
5.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Capriccio In E Falt Major  
6.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Fantaisie In A Flat Major  
7.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Fugue In A Minor  
8.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Adagietto In E Minor  
9.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Improvisation In C Sharp Minor  
10.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Fugue In E Minor  
11.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Allegresse In C Major  
12.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Nocturne In D Flat Major  
13.	Les 8 Pieces Breves, Op.84: Mazurka In E Flat Major, Op.32  
14.	Les 3 Romances Sans Paroles, Op.17 No.1 In A Flat Major  
15.	Les 3 Romances Sans Paroles, Op.17 No.2 In A Minor  
16.	Les 3 Romances Sans Paroles, Op.17 No.3 In A Flat Major  
17.	Dolly, Suite Pour Piano A 4 Mains, Op.56: I. Berceuse  
18.	Dolly, Suite Pour Piano A 4 Mains, Op.56: Ii. Mi-a-ou  
19.	Dolly, Suite Pour Piano A 4 Mains, Op.56: Iii. Le Jardin De Dolly  
20.	Dolly, Suite Pour Piano A 4 Mains, Op.56: Iv. Kitty-valse  
21.	Dolly, Suite Pour Piano A 4 Mains, Op.56: V. Tendresse  
22.	Dolly, Suite Pour Piano A 4 Mains, Op.56: Vi. Le Pas Espagnol  
23 	Souvenirs de Bayreuth, for piano, 4 hands ("Fantaisie en forme de quadrille ...de R. Wagner")

Jean-Philippe Collard – piano

The music of Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) is an important link between the innovations of late Romanticism and the experimentation of the early 20th century. A student of Saint-Saëns, he, in turn, taught Ravel and was a mentor to the young modernists of Les Six. These 13 barcarolles, composed over a span of 40 years, document his move from Romanticism to the frontiers of 20th-century music.

Faure's use of the term 'Barcarolle' was more convenient than precise, as he was not attracted by fanciful titles -even mantaining that he only used generic terms for his pieces at the insistence of his publisher. Like the nocturnes, the barcarolles span nearly the whole of Fauré's composing career, and they similarly display the evolution of his style from the uncomplicated charm of the early pieces to the withdrawn and enigmatic quality of the late works.

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1. Thème et variations Op 73 | Thème [1'58]
2. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 1 Listesso tempo [0'58]
3. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 2 Più mosso [0'53]
4. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 3 Un poco più mosso [0'48]
5. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 4 Listesso tempo [1'25]
6. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 5 Un poco più mosso [0'48]
7. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 6 Molto adagio [1'50]
8. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 7 Allegro moderato [0'53]
9. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 8 Andante molto moderato [1'27]
10. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 9 Quasi adagio [1'17]
11. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 10 Allegro vivo [1'16]
12. Thème et variations Op 73 | Variation 11 Andante molto, moderato espressivo [2'47]
13. Valse-caprice No 1 in A major Op 30 [7'22]
14. Valse-caprice No 2 in D flat major Op 38 [7'43]
15. Nocturne No 5 in B flat major Op 37 [8'35]
16. Nocturne No 6 in D flat major Op 63 [9'12]
17. Nocturne No 13 in B minor Op 119 [8'29]
18. Ballade pour piano seul Op 19 [15'07]

Angela Hewitt – piano

This recording is the latest release in Angela Hewitt’s highly regarded series of solo piano music by French composers, the list of which has included Rameau, Couperin, Chabrier, Messiaen, Ravel, and most recently Debussy. I have marvelled at her recorded work to date and was quite eager to have the opportunity to acquire and review this recording. It seemed only natural and a matter of time for Hewitt to release an album of piano music by Gabriel Fauré, and we learn from the first line of the pianist’s album notes that this had been her idea for quite some time.

Fauré’s oeuvre for solo piano include thirteen Nocturnes, thirteen Barcarolles, six Impromptus, four Valses-Caprices, and a number of other significant works including Romances sans paroles, Ballade in F# major, Mazurka in B flat major, Thème et variations, and Huit pièces brèves.

Hewitt has thoughtfully selected compositions that date from different stylistic periods of Fauré’s life. She opens with the Thème et variations in C sharp minor, composed in 1895, which is Fauré’s longest work for solo piano and one of his greatest. Hewitt’s playing here is sublime: from the moment she declares the solemn, march-like opening of the theme, we are captivated by her lyrical phrasing and sensitive use of rubato, tight control of dynamics, and articulate fingerwork. Each of the eleven variations has its unique contours, colours and textures. She effectively communicates the nervous energy of the second and third variations, haunts us with the eeriness of the sixth, touches us with the serenity of the ninth. The tenth variation ends with a climactic resolution in C sharp minor, leading us to believe that the work is over; however, out of the decaying sound of that seemingly final chord emerges the last variation in the major mode - harmonically rich and compellingly beautiful. As Aaron Copland described it: “How many pianists, I wonder, have not regretted that the composer disdained the easy triumph of closing on the brilliant, dashing tenth variation. No, poor souls, they must turn the page and play that last, enigmatic (and most beautiful) one, which seems to leave the audience with so little desire to applaud.”

Next are two of Fauré’s four Valses-Caprices, composed around the time of his marriage and lighter and more playful in mood. These are charming works full of colour and contrast: tender, at times melancholy, melodies are juxtaposed with joyous, animated, rowdier passages. In the latter, Hewitt really brings out their dance elements, providing a strong rhythmic foundation while brilliantly executing lines of rapid fingerwork. The Nocturnes, which many agree to be some of the most beautiful works ever written for solo piano, were composed across a span of forty years, and Hewitt has chosen to record three of her favourites, each representative of a different phase of Fauré’s life. After listening to these selections, I only wish that she had recorded the entire set. In her hands, these miniature musical tone poems, with their myriad moods ranging from tranquillity to animation to introspection, are given fresh life, and it is clear that Hewitt has truly assimilated these works. No. 13, Fauré’s last work for solo piano, has a philosophical, metaphysically searching nature which is reminiscent of the slow movements of his chamber works such as the Piano Trio in D minor and String Quartet in E minor, both of which were also written in his final years. Rather leaving us on a fatalistic note, Hewitt takes us back to Fauré’s more youthful days and completes her album with the lyrical and uplifting Ballade pour piano seul.

Hyperion’s recording engineers have beautifully captured the sound and dynamic range of Hewitt’s Fazioli concert grand piano. Bass notes which figure prominently in nearly all of these piano works have a deep, rich resonance. The venue, the same used for most of Hewitt’s recent solo recordings for Hyperion, gives the recorded piano’s sound just the right amount of air without being overly reverberant. The album notes were thoughtfully prepared by the pianist herself and provide both historical context as well as personal insight into this collection of works.

Those of you who have loyally followed Hyperion’s discography will be aware that this album of Fauré solo piano works is not the label’s first. Kathryn Stott, another champion of Fauré, recorded the complete piano works in a four-disc set, including works for four hands (with Martin Roscoe), for Hyperion in 1994. These were also excellently recorded and critically praised at the time of their release . One cannot discuss the recorded piano works of Fauré without mentioning two other artists who have recorded their entirety, Jean-Philippe Collard and Paul Crossley. I would also recommend the recordings of Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, the Franco-Dutch pianist who was a student of Fauré at the Paris Conservatoire. Although these mono transfers, now available on the Testament label, cannot compare to the superb engineering of the album in review, they are nevertheless historically significant and worth exploring.

Hewitt’s Fauré Piano Works, a valuable addition to the Fauré discography, is a delight from start to finish and one to which I will certainly return with pleasure. This is pianism of the highest calibre faithfully captured with first-rate engineering. -- Albert Lam, MusicWeb International

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1.Sonata for Piano and Cello No. 1 – Allegro
2.Sonata for Piano and Cello No. 1 – Andante
3.Sonata for Piano and Cello No. 1 - Allegro comodo

Aleth Lamasse – cello
Daria Hovora – piano

Gabriel Faure (1845-1924) was a French composer. His music serves as a bridge between Romanticism, an era in full bloom when he was born, and twentieth-century music. Faure wrote this cello sonata during World War I. Like many of his compositions from that era, the music of this sonata is quite forceful.

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01. Nocturne no.1 in E flat minor, op.33 no.1
02. Nocturne no.2 in B major, op.33 no.2
03. Nocturne no.3 in A flat major, op.33 no.3
04. Nocturne no.4 in E flat major, op.36
05. Nocturne no.5 in B flat major, op.37
06. Nocturne no.6 in D flat major, op.63
07. Nocturne no.7 in C sharp minor, op.74
08. Nocturne no.8 in D flat major, op.84 no.8
09. Nocturne no.9 in B minor, op.97
10. Nocturne no.10 in E minor, op.99
11. Nocturne no.11 in F sharp minor, op.104 no.1

Jean-Philippe Collard - piano

- The Nocturnes alone – composed over a span of almost 40 years (1883–1922) – would suffice to prevent any identification of the composer, trained in the rigorous discipline of the Niedermeyer School, with the impressionist poet. Verlaine delights in the uncertainty of feelings and landscapes, thereby entertaining a confusion between a hazy exterior and the irresolutions of an aching soul – a continuing game of deceit. --- mdt.co.uk

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Pénélope .............................. Joséphine Veasey
Ulysse ................................ André Turp 
Eumée ................................. Richard Van Allan
Euryclée .............................. Johanna Peters
Eurymaque ............................. Neil Howlett
Antinous .............................. Alexander Oliver
Léodčs, un berger ..................... Gerald English
Ctésippe .............................. Richard Angas
Melantho .............................. Rosanne Creffield
Cléone ................................ Sarah Walker
Alkandre, Eurymone .................... Sara de Javelin
Phulo ................................. Susan Lees
Lydie ................................. Sally Le Sage

Welsh National Opera Chorus 
BBC Welsh orchestra
Dir.: David Lloyd-Jones

Cardiff,  1977

The six years it took Fauré to complete his Pénélope have been multiplied no less than elevenfold for his 'poème lyrique' to reach the gramophone lists. Fauré has never been – and would never have wanted to be – a composer of vast popular appeal; Pénélope, with its rather pedestrian libretto and lack of stage action (until its violent ending), has not attracted opera-house managements; and its absence of big arias and detachable set-pieces has caused mere voice-fanciers to ignore it. Yet it is a work of outstanding quality, revealing strength as well as lyricism. Not coldly classical but warmly human, it concentrates (like Monteverdi's opera on the same subject) on the story of Ulysses's return, in disguise, to the wife who has lovingly waited 20 years for him, the attempt to bend his great bow by the importunate suitors she has kept at bay by a subterfuge, and Ulysses's eventual proclamation of his identity and slaughter of the detested parasites. Pénélope adopts a Wagnerian system of leading-motives (though the music, apart from the appearance of the Tristan chord, is far from being Wagnerian), and offers its singers, if not much depth of characterization, a great deal of expressive and gratefully written music. The love-theme, a variant of Fauré's favourite rising scale with a sharpened fourth (as in Lydia), is hauntingly beautiful. --- gramophone.co.uk

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I. Piano quartet  in c op.15    32:42
1  allegro molto moderato    10:27
2  scherzo    6:04
3  adagio    7:23
4  allegro molto    8:48

Claude Helffer, piano
Georges Tessier, violin
Pierre Ladhuie, viola
Roger Albin, cello

II. Sonata for piano and cello in g op.117    17:47
5  allegro    6:30
6  andante    6:44
7  allegro vivo    4:33

Claude Helffer, piano
Roger Albin, cello 

Fauré's Piano Quartet in c minor was perhaps his best known chamber music work and was considered in the front rank of such works, being regularly performed in the days when piano quartets were frequently heard in concert. It dates from 1879 not long after Fauré had visited Wagner and listened to his music. Impressed though he was, unlike Cesar Franck or d’Indy, he refused to fall under Wagner’s spell and set off on his own path. No better example can be found than this work. The opening movement, Allegro molto moderato, is bold and sweeping over a wide range, powerfully rhythmic and very original, it is clearly a challenge to Franck and the other French Wagnerians. He is deliberately seeking to expand the language of romanticism without going in the same direction as Wagner. Fauré, unlike Brahms or Schumann, never resorted to having the strings treated as a choir against the piano. He recognized and accepted the basic difference in sound and character between the piano and string instruments and never tried to make the piano sing long sustained melodies. He showed that it was not necessary. Using opposing arpeggios, chords and runs against the singing of a single instrument or a group of them, and giving the piano an equal role in a rich contrapuntal texture created a dazzling variety of tonal effects. --- editionsilvertrust.com

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Violin Sonata No.1 in A major, Op.13 (1875-76) 
1. Allegro molto
2. Andante
3. Allegro vivo
4. Allegro quasi presto

Violin Sonata No.2 in E minor, Op.108 (1916) 
5. Allegro non troppo
6. Andante
7. Finale. Allegro ma non troppo

Jean Fournier, violin
Ginette Doyen, piano

Jean Fournier (1911-2003) and his wife Ginette Doyen (1921-2002) were mainstays of the catalogues in the 1950s and 1960s. They were both especially attuned to the Gallic sensitivity necessary to convey native chamber music, and both were fine Fauré players. Doubtless Jean, whose association with Jacques Thibaud was a pivotal experience, learned much from the older man.

They recorded both sonatas between April and May 1952 on a mono Westminster (and Vega) LP. The Thibaud-Cortot 78 recording of the First Sonata was, I suspect, still just about gettable, but for those with up-to-date equipment competition loomed by way of the Bobesco-Gentry team and that of Soriano and Tagliaferro. More suave, international names featured Heifetz and Bay, and Elman and Millman. The year after the Fournier-Doyen disc, Francescatti and Casadesus made their celebrated recording of both sonatas and this has recently been reissued and reviewed by me.

The husband-and-wife team take conventional tempi in the A major. Fournier - younger brother of Pierre, by the way - has a sweet, focused tone, and is a lyrical interpreter perfectly suited to the chamber repertoire. For once a Parisian studio did not impart a razory, brittle quality to a string player’s tone. In every way, except perhaps in terms of the ideal in projection, this is an engaging reading. The scherzo, for example, is just a touch underdone. There’s a conspicuous edit at 3:15 into the finale, but that’s a fault of the original engineers, and neither Fournier and Doyen nor Forgotten Records can do much about that.

It was courageous of the duo to tackle the Second Sonata at the time, then as now very much in the shadow of its effusive older sibling. Fournier and Doyen are significantly more cautious than I think we’d hear today. Their approach honours the work’s seriousness, and catches its frequent harmonic drifts. One feels also that Fournier, who was a fine technician, wants to obey the tempo instructions appropriately. Thus the non troppo of the opening and closing movements are taken in just that way. However a faster basic pulse throughout tends to manoeuvre the music with greater intensity and stops momentum sagging in the slow movement, as it rather does here from time to time. Both Francescatti and Casadesus, and rather later Grumiaux and Sebök, adopt the faster route with rather more plausible results. --- Jonathan Woolf, musicweb-international.com

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Durufle - Requiem, for orchestra, organ & chorus; for organ & chorus; for small ensemble, organ & chorus, Op. 9 (3 versions)
1. I. Introit
2. II. Kyrie
3. III. Domine Jesu
4. IV. Sanctus
5. V. Pie Jesu
6. VI. Agnus Dei
7. RVII. Lux æterna
8. VIII. Libera me
9. In paradisum

Faure - Requiem, for 2 solo voices, chorus, organ & orchestra, Op. 48
10. I. Introit et Kyrie
11. II. Offertoire
12. III. Sanctus
13. IV. Pie Jesu
14. V. Agnus Dei
15. VI. Libera me
16. VII. In paradisum

Miah Persson – soprano
Malena Ernman – mezzo-soprano
Olle Persson – baritone
Ola Håkansson – cello
Mattias Wager – organ
Swedish Radio Choir
Fredrick Malmberg - conductor

Since the invention of long-playing recordings, Duruflé and Fauré's Requiems have been coupled together. The two most popular Requiems by French composers since Berlioz wrote his blockbuster Requiem, Duruflé and Fauré's Requiems are quiet, intimate, and devotional -- three qualities Berlioz' Requiem emphatically is not. With their restrained emotions, reserved harmonic palette, and complete faith in the resurrection of the dead, Duruflé and Fauré's Requiems form a wholly fitting pairing.

This particular coupling with Fredrick Malmberg leading the Swedish Radio Choir features not the familiar orchestral accompanied versions of the works but rather the organ accompanied original versions. This adds immeasurably to the devotional quality of the performances, making them seem more than ever Requiems intended to be performed in context of church services. The Swedish Choir is a rich, full, and immaculately groomed ensemble that Malmberg leads in performances of impeccable musicality and profound religiosity. The soloists are uniformly superb, with the standout being soprano Miah Persson's radiant "Piu Jesu" in Fauré's work. Organist Mattias Wager may be a bit too self-effacing for those who prefer their accompaniments to shock and awe, but he is always exactly where he's supposed to be doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing and who could ask for any more? While those who prefer more lively performances of the Requiems may prefer the big-boned Shaw recordings of the orchestral arrangements, those who prefer to listen on their knees in a darkened church will surely go for Malmberg's recordings, particularly in BIS' lush super audio sound. ---James Leonard, Rovi

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Requiem, Op. 48
1. I. Introït	7:20
2. II. Offertoire		8:00
3. III. Sanctus		3:26	
4. IV. Pie Jesu		4:23
5. V. Agnus Dei		6:38	
6. VI. Libera me		4:35	
7. VII. In Paradisum	4:09

Messe Des Pêcheurs de Villerville
8.I. Kyrie (Messager)		4:41	
9. II. Gloria (Fauré)	4:33	
10. III. Sanctus (Fauré)		2:04	
11. IV. O Salutaris (Messager)		3:03
12. V. Agnus Dei (Fauré)		3:14

Agnes Mellon - soprano
Peter Kooij – baritone
La Chapelle Royale
Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Louis Ensemble
Musique Oblique 
Philippe Herreweghe - conductor

Well, this will set the cat among the pigeons, and no mistake. It has long been obvious that the 1901 published score of Faure's Requiem is a very fishy document indeed. The violin and woodwind parts and, for much of the time, those for trumpets and trombones seem expressly designed to be as inaudible as possible. They are for the most part silent and seldom do anything else but inconspicuously double lines that did not need doubling in the first place. The 1901 score is of uncertain provenance (no manuscript source for it has ever come to light) and it seems probable that Faure merely acquiesced in its preparation, urged by his publisher to make the work more saleable by at least disguising its orchestra as a standard one. The Requiem had been in existence and had been fairly frequently performed for a dozen years before 1901, and although Faure had modified the scoring over that period he had never added more than a solo violin to his basic string force of divided violas, divided cellos and basses, and had never even considered, so far as we know, the use of flutes or clarinets.

Reconstructing Faure's pre-publication score (which was complete, to all intents and purposes, by 1894) is therefore a highly desirable objective, and when John Rutter's edition appeared five years ago it was a revelation. Four of the seven movements of the 1894 score exist in Faure's hand, and it was a relatively simple matter to remove the added instrumental parts from the remaining three. But Faure did not recopy his manuscript every time he modified the scoring: the existing score contains several states of the orchestration. Rutter's version, therefore, was an inevitably provisional one; as he acknowledged, ''there can be no final answer unless new sources come to light''.

New sources have now come to light: the distinguished French scholar Jean-Michel Nectoux has discovered a set of manuscript orchestral parts, some in a copyist's hand but some in Faure's and all of them corrected by him. They differ quite extensively from Rutter's score, most noticeably in the horn parts, which are entirely in Faure's hand and thus indisputably authentic. The horns are much more prominently used than in either the 1901 score or in Rutter's, but they are used in a way which is entirely consistent with the principles of scoring that are manifest in the 1894 version. They are used, that is to say, for dramatic emphasis in the Benedictus and ''Dies illa'' sections but elsewhere to colour the basic texture of low strings and organ. The baritone solo in the Offertoire (we are used to hearing it with organ and strings) is enriched by a virtual horn obbligato and there is a wonderful moment in the In Paradisum where a modulation is radiantly pointed and warmed by horn tone. There are numerous other differences of detail (a much more extensive use of timpani in the Libera me, for example) and one controversial one. The familiar syncopated entry of the brass at ''Dies illa'' becomes in Nectoux's score a plainer and perhaps even more menacing pattern of repeated crotchets. Although Faure may have merely complied in the detailed scoring of the 1901 edition such a radical change as this can scarcely have been made without his sanction. Listeners will decide for themselves which they prefer, and performers may very well choose either option. In all other repects Nectoux's score is as close as Rutter's to the colour and texture that were surely in Faure's mind when he conceived the work, while in many points of detail, some of them very important, it is unquestionably more authentic.

If one takes the published metronome marks as a guide, Herreweghe is very slightly on the slow side in the Offertoire, Pie Jesu, Agnus Dei and In Paradisum, elsewhere spot on. For this first recording of the Nectoux score I would have preferred 'authentic' tempos as well, but the performance otherwise is so beautiful that I cannot complain too bitterly. Agnes Mellon is almost as pure-voiced as Rutter's Caroline Ashton (on Collegium/Gamut) and Peter Kooy has as beautiful a light baritone as Rutter's Stephen Roberts, but a slightly more steady one. Herreweghe's chorus (using children's voices in the upper parts) and his orchestra are as fine as Rutter's, and his recording has rather more space around it. And his fill-up is another fascinating restoration: the Messe des Pecheurs (later much revised as the Messe basse, and included in that version as part of Rutter's coupling) is a work of touchingly naive innocence, to which the two suppressed movements by Messager add a charming element of Gounod-ish lyricism. Prettily scored for women's voices, wind trio, string quartet, double-bass and harmonium, it is not nearly so unified as the revised version of course, but it is slightly fresher in sound and not quite so sweet. It completes a recording of major importance, to which all future performances of the Requiem (and not only those using this edition) will need to refer. -- Michael Oliver, Gramophone [4/1989]

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Caligula op. 52
concert version after the incidental music to Alexandre Dumas’ drama 
for female choir and orchestra (1888)
1  Prologue: Fanfares, Marche, Chœur   6’51 
2  Choeur: L’hiver s’enfuit  2’29
3  Air de Danse  2’03
4  Mélodrame et Choeur: De roses vermeilles  2’20
5  Mélodrame et Choeur: César a fermé la paupière 3’32
------
6  Prélude from Pénélope  7’49

Poème lyrique in three acts (1912)  
Orchestral Songs for soprano and orchestra
7  Les roses d’Ispahan op. 39/4, orchestrated by Fauré (1891) 3’35
8  Soir op. 83/2, orchestrated by Louis Aubert (no date) 2’22
9  Clair de lune op. 46/2, orchestrated by Fauré (1888) 3’10
------
10  Après un rêve op. 7/1, orchestrated by Henri Busser (1918) 3’08

Shylock op. 57
concert version after the incidental music to Edmond Haraucourts 
comedy after Shakespeare for tenor and orchestra (1889)
11     Chanson 	2’54
12     Entr’acte 	3’39
13     Madrigal 	1’34
14     Epithalame 	3’27
15     Nocturne 	2’13
16     Final 	3’39

Pelléas et Mélisande op. 80
Orchestral Suite after the incidental music to Maurice Maeterlincks play for orchestra (1898) 
(with Chanson de Mélisande in an English translation by John William Mackail)
17     Prélude 	5’45 
18     Fileuse 	2’45
19     Sicilienne 	3’35
20	   Mélisande's Song, orchestrated by Charles Koechlin (1936) 2’36
21	   La mort de Mélisande 4’12

Olga Peretyatko - soprano
Benjamin Bruns - tenor
Balthasar-Neumann-Chor
Sinfonieorchester Basel
Ivor Bolton - conductor

The Sinfonieorchester Basel is one of the oldest and most innovative orchestras in Switzerland. Ivor Bolton and the orchestra present an interesting selection of orchestral songs and suites by the French composer Gabriel Faure and team with soprano Olga Peretyatko, tenor Benjamin Bruns and the Balthasar Neumann Women's Choir for this recording. The incidental music for "Caligula" was composed by Faure for the eponymous drama by Alexandre Dumas. The second piece on this album is the "Prelude" from Faures opera "Penelope". Olga Peretyatko is the soprano in a selection of songs, which had been originally composed for piano and for the more intimate character of the French salons, before Faure wrote the beautiful orchestral accompaniments. The music from "Shylock" is an concert version after the incidental music to Edmond Haraucourts comedy after Shakespeare and the recording finishes with the famous "Pelleas et Melisande" op 80. ---digitales.com.au

Fauré’s first biographer Hugues Imbert emphasized in 1888 the composer’s “pronounced inclinations towards true symphonic music”. From a present-day perspective this assessment seems rather odd, but in the 1870s and 1880s in particular, a series of ambitious orchestral works were created.

Shylock, op. 57. Orchestral Suite

Fauré himself conducted the first performance of his incidental music to Shylock, Edmond Haraucourt’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice on 17 December 1889 at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, Paris. In contrast to Caligula, composed just a year earlier, it represents a significant advance on his approach: the music is more closely woven into the drama and more prominent in the production. In addition to strings, the score from the Théâtre de l’Odéon requires only single woodwind (except for two clarinets), one horn, one trumpet and a harp; many sections reduce this even further. In contrast, the orchestral suite specifies double woodwind, four horns, two trumpets, harps and a triangle. A comparison of the two scores shows that Fauré did not simply re-score his music, but made many careful revisions as well as introducing new passages. The Suite op. 57 was first performed at a concert of the Société nationale de musique on 17 May 1890, conducted by Gabriel Marie. Shylock contains some of Fauré’s most imaginative and colourful orchestration: the Nocturne is beautifully conceived, with its divisi muted strings, and the colours in the final movement perhaps owe something to Fauré’s experience in composing the last movement of his Symphony op. 40 (1884–1885).

Pelléas et Mélisande, op. 80. Orchestral suite

Fauré’s next important commission for orchestra was 1898 the incidental music to Maurice Maeterlinck’s play Pelléas et Mélisande, and the orchestral suite drawn from it may be considered his masterpiece in the field of orchestral music. The work took just one month, although constraints of time obliged him to delegate the task of orchestrating the score to his pupil Charles Kœchlin. Nine performances took place at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London beginning on 21 June 1898, the composer himself conducting the première. Fauré then set about compiling an orchestral suite, choosing three substantial movements: the Prélude, the second entr’acte, which became the Fileuse, and the fourth entr’acte, which became the Molto adagio (Mort de Mélisande). Orchestration was expanded, with a symphonic string section complemented by double woodwind (one oboe and one bassoon added), four horns instead of two, the original two trumpets and timpani unchanged but an extra harp specified. These additions occasioned many alterations to balance and voicings. The Suite op. 80 was first performed on 3 February 1901 by Camille Chevillard and the orchestra of the Concerts Lamoureux. Not only in France, but further afield, it enjoyed considerable success in its three movements version, and there is evidence that the same is true of the Sicilienne in the years before its incorporation into the suite. The piece owes its existence to a commission for incidental music to the play Le Bourgeois gentilhomme by Molière. Although performed in four movements since December 1912, it was only in 1920 that Fauré formally requested Edgard Hamelle to incorporate the Sicilienne into the score of op. 80.

Prélude from Pénélope (concert version)

The idea of writing for the operatic stage never quite left Fauré, and his correspondence is peppered with allusions to opera projects, collaborations with librettists and negotiations with producers. The idea of Pénélope was proposed to him by the singer Lucienne Bréval in Monte Carlo in February 1907. Mme Bréval offered to put him in touch with a young friend of hers called René Fauchois, a playwright who had just written for her a play based on Homer’s Odyssey. Fauré accepted the offer with enthusiasm, but because of his duties as Director of the Paris Conservatoire, the vast majority of the opera was composed during Fauré’s summer holidays. The opera’s first performances were thus only in March 1913 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, with Léon Jéhin conducting. The Paris première took place in May of that year, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. It was exceptionally well received, hailed as a masterpiece in many reviews, but the theatre was in severe financial difficulties, going bankrupt soon after the last performance on 28 October. Sets were sold off, and subsequent performances of Pénélope were interrupted by the First World War. However, the work was revived at the Opéra-Comique in January 1919, and there were successful performances in Belgium and throughout France between the wars, but the opera has never quite achieved the status in France of being part of the grand répertoire.

Fauré took great care over orchestral colour, mindful that he was establishing the atmosphere for the whole opera. The Prélude is far from a pot-pourri of themes assembled from the finished work: indeed Fauré envisaged it as integral to the opera, similar in approach to Wagner’s Musikdrama in this respect. In performance, the Prélude runs seamlessly into the first Act, and it was necessary to adapt its closing bars when Fauré came to prepare a concert version. He did this by adding a short passage based on Penelope’s love theme, and the Prélude ends in an atmosphere of calm, with an echo of the miraculous closing bars of Act I, played as Penelope invites the disguised Ulysses to take shelter. ---takte-online.de

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