Composer: Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré, Francis Poulenc
Performer: Sébastien Richaud, Mathieu Dubroca, Roxane Chalard
Orchestra: Ensemble Aedes, Les Siècles orchestra
Conductor: Mathieu Romano
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (track)
Label: Aparte
Size: 977 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Requiem, Op. 48: I. Introït – Kyrie (version originale de 1893)
02. Requiem, Op. 48: II. Offertoire (version originale de 1893)
03. Requiem, Op. 48: III. Sanctus (version originale de 1893)
04. Requiem, Op. 48: IV. Pie Jesu (version originale de 1893)
05. Requiem, Op. 48: V. Agnus Dei (version originale de 1893)
06. Requiem, Op. 48: VI. Libera me (version originale de 1893)
07. Requiem, Op. 48: VII. In paradisum (version originale de 1893)
08. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: I. De tous les printemps du monde
09. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: II. En chantant les servantes s’élancent
10. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: III. Aussi bas que le silence
11. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: IV. Toi ma patiente
12. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: V. Riant du ciel et des planètes
13. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: VI. Le jour m’étonne et la nuit me fait peur
14. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: VII. La menace sous le ciel rouge
15. Figure humaine, Cantate pour double chœur mixte a cappella, FP. 120: VIII. Liberté
16. Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L. 92: I. Dieu ! qu’il la fait bon regarder ! (1898)
17. Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L. 92: II. Quand j’ai ouy le tabourin (1908)
18. Trois chansons de Charles d’Orléans, L. 92: III. Yver, vous n’estes qu’un villain (1898)
Fauré’s Requiem (‘funeral lullaby’) written for enjoyment, as the composer put it, has a unique place in history. Its soft, simple and modest poetry conveys moments of gentle contemplation and moving expressiveness which are entrusted to both the choir and the two soloists.
With his Ensemble Aedes and the orchestra Les Siècles, Mathieu Romano is committed to render a Requiem faithful to its first performance. We hear thus the score in its original 1893 orchestration, where the organ plays a great role and where Latin is pronounced in the French way as it used to be. The clearest articulation of the Ensemble Aedes then perfectly fits Éluard’s Figure humaine set to music by Francis Poulenc. We have never heard these sublime poems sung with such intelligibility before!
Finally, the three Songs by Debussy elegantly close the album. Here again, the quality and clarity of the voices are stunning. Artistic director and founder of Ensemble Aedes Mathieu Romano has established himself as a magician of voices in a cappella scores and voices ideally melt with the strings of Les Siècles under his baton.