Ansermet: Faure – Requiem (APE)

Composer: Gabriel Faure
Performer: Suzanne Danco, Gerard Souzay, L’Union Chorale у la Tour de Peliz, Robert Mermoud
Orchestra: L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Conductor: Ernest Ansermet
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Decca
Size: 371 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

# Requiem, for 2 solo voices, chorus, organ & orchestra, Op. 48
Composed by Gabriel Faure
Performed by L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
with Gerard Souzay, Suzanne Danco, Eric Schmidt
Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

# Pelléas et Mélisande, incidental music and suite for orchestra, Op. 80
Composed by Gabriel Faure
Performed by L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
with Gerard Souzay, Suzanne Danco
Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

# Pénélope, opera in 3 acts Prelude
Composed by Gabriel Faure
Performed by L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
with Gerard Souzay, Suzanne Danco
Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

# Masques et bergamasques, suite for orchestra, Op. 112
Composed by Gabriel Faure
Performed by L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
with Gerard Souzay, Suzanne Danco
Conducted by Ernest Ansermet

01. Requiem, Op. 48: I. Introit & Kyrie
02. Requiem, Op. 48: II. Offertoire
03. Requiem, Op. 48: III. Sanctus
04. Requiem, Op. 48: IV. Pie Jesu
05. Requiem, Op. 48: V. Agnus Dei
06. Requiem, Op. 48: VI. Libera me
07. Requiem, Op. 48: VII. In paradisum
08. Pelleas et Melisande – incidental music: I. Prelude
09. Pelleas et Melisande – incidental music: II. La Fileuse
10. Pelleas et Melisande – incidental music: III. Molto adagio
11. Pelleas et Melisande – incidental music: IV. Sicilienne
12. Penelope – prelude: Prelude
13. Masques et bergamasques: I. Ouverture
14. Masques et bergamasques: II. Menuet
15. Masques et bergamasques: III. Gavotte
16. Masques et bergamasques: IV. Pastorale

Serene, timeless.

I haven’t really listened to many other interpretations of the Faure Requiem. But as it is presented here, it has a very meditative quality. Even though I owned this CD for a long time now, I never really “got used to it”. It still sends multiple shivers down my spine each time I end up listening to it; and resonates with something in me that definitely is above and beyond my consciousness.

Nothing overdone, no musical bragging, no artistic shows. No soloists throwing themselves at you, even though there are a lot of solo vocal passages. Just the music. To my taste: everything in its right place…

The pieces that follow the Requiem are a wonderful addition to the recording and with those also, the interpretations remain true to the serenity of the Requiem.