- Main performer: Martin Neary
- Booklet languages: English
- Libretto languages: Latin, English
- Time: 65:30
- Release Date: 2006
Review
Gabriel Fauré once famously explained to a critic that he understood death to be "a welcome deliverance, as aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience." This is certainly borne out by his setting of the Catholic Requiem Mass. Not only did Fauré decide not to include a setting of the Dies Irae -- the Day of Wrath that Verdi so memorably and so terrifyingly set in his Requiem -- he decided to include a closing In Paradisum, a vision of the heavenly fields of paradise. While this conception of death may strike more bloodthirsty listeners as dull and sentimental, there is nothing inherently dull or sentimental about Fauré's Requiem -- it is rather a work of refined gentleness and elevated emotionality. Unfortunately, too many recordings of the work mistake dullness for gentleness and sentimentality for emotionality.Not so with this soulful and spiritual 1982 recording of the Requiem with Philip Ledger leading the Choir of King's College Cambridge and the English Chamber Orchestra. Aside from sweetness and light, there's also real nerve and muscle in Ledger's interpretation. The boys and men of the King's College Choir sing with power and grace, turning in not only a consummately musical but also a deeply affecting performance ably backed by the ECO. With sterling baritone Benjamin Luxon in the Offertoire and the Libre me, plus sublime soprano Arleen Augér in the Pie Jesu, Ledger's interpretation hits all the high and low notes of Fauré's Requiem, and the inclusion of his superb performance of his Messe basse and a pair of motets by Duruflé makes this re-release one of the most satisfying available. Coupled here with a robust and heartfelt 1987 recording of Poulenc's a cappella Mass in G with Martin Neary leading the Winchester Cathedral Choir, anyone who enjoys French sacred music will surely enjoy this disc. Classics for Pleasure's remastered EMI stereo and digital sound is oxymoronically cool but warm -- an odd but ideal balance for these works. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide
Performances
| Composer | Title | Time |
| Gabriel Fauré | Requiem, for 2 solo voices, chorus, organ & orchestra, Op. 48 | 32:58 |
| Gabriel Fauré | Messe basse, for solo voices, chorus & organ | 8:44 |
| Maurice Duruflé | Motets (4) on Gregorian Themes, for chorus, Op.10 (3. Tu es Petrus) | 1:03 |
| Maurice Duruflé | Motets (4) on Gregorian Themes, for chorus, Op.10 (4. Tantum ergo) | 2:45 |
| Francis Poulenc | Mass in G major for chorus, FP 89 | 20:00 |
