Gabriel Fauré (Faure)

Started by The Emperor, July 21, 2007, 10:46:34 AM

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Solitary Wanderer

I'm looking for a recommendeation of his complete Nocturnes  :)
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte

SonicMan46

Quote from: Solitary Wanderer on December 05, 2008, 11:07:34 AM
I'm looking for a recommendeation of his complete Nocturnes  :)

Hello Chris - I have the Kathryn Stott 4-CD set of Faure's Piano Works on Hyperion - rather pricey on Amazon @ the moment, and of course includes much more than the Nocturnes - she has gleamed a lot of praise for this series w/ some short comments on Hyperion HERE!  I believe that I may have puchased this set from BRO at a great price a while back? -  :)

But in checking 'other offerings' of just the Nocturnes, several were of interest to me (shown below) - hopefully others know these works and can comment?  Also, there is the Brilliant set of complete piano works that I believe has been reviewed favorably here (and also on Amazon) - Dave  :D


 

   

Solitary Wanderer

Quote from: SonicMan on December 05, 2008, 01:30:45 PM
Hello Chris - I have the Kathryn Stott 4-CD set of Faure's Piano Works on Hyperion - rather pricey on Amazon @ the moment, and of course includes much more than the Nocturnes - she has gleamed a lot of praise for this series w/ some short comments on Hyperion HERE!  I believe that I may have puchased this set from BRO at a great price a while back? -  :)

But in checking 'other offerings' of just the Nocturnes, several were of interest to me (shown below) - hopefully others know these works and can comment?  Also, there is the Brilliant set of complete piano works that I believe has been reviewed favorably here (and also on Amazon) - Dave  :D


 

   

Thanks for that Dave  :)

I'd been doing the same research on Amazon as you  :D

The two box sets look excellent, but that could be too much Faure piano music at the moment.

The three single Nocturnes discs all look promising, with the EMI Collard leading the bunch at the moment [although there's only one used copy available].
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte

Kullervo

#23
Don't forget his chamber music! Masterpieces in profusion.

I emphatically recommend this set:



This has the complete sonatas for violin and cello, complete piano quartets and quintets, the string quartet and several smaller (but still very worthy) pieces.

Que

Quote from: Corey on December 05, 2008, 04:17:17 PM
Don't forget his chamber music! Masterpieces in profusion.

I emphatically recommend this set:

Seconded!  :) Excellent & idomatic performances throughout this set.

Great that we now a Fauré thread btw. :)

Q

71 dB

I have a funny feeling that very cheap 5 CD EMI box goes to my wishlist...  :P

It's weird how neglected Fauré's chamber much is (same as Elgar!). Years ago I emailed Klaus Heymann a list of repertoire ideas including Faurés Piano Quartets & Quintets. So far nothing has happened. In fact, I bought the Decca twofer of these works because I got tired of waiting for Naxos releases.  ;D
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Opus106

Has anyone compared the EMI and Brilliant Classic boxes of Faure's chamber music? What do you think?
Regards,
Navneeth

Que

#27
I've just discovered that EMI France also has a box set with the chamber music set above + the piano music with Collard (also on Brilliant) + one disc of mélodies with Von Stade:


Or Collard & Von Stade separately for about the same price as the Brilliant set:


Q

SonicMan46

Quote from: opus67 on December 06, 2008, 02:32:15 AM
Has anyone compared the EMI and Brilliant Classic boxes of Faure's chamber music? What do you think?

Well, I don't own either of the chamber boxes mentioned, but I do have 5 CDs of Faure's Chamber Works, so likely have most of what is in those packages; two of the discs that I do own are: 1) Nash Ensemble - Piano Quartets; and 2) Quintetto Faure di Roma - Piano Quintets - these are excellent performances.

In reviewing the Brilliant Classics description the following is stated "Excellent performances by the Quintetto Fauré di Roma, the Ames Piano Quartet, the Nash Ensemble, the duo Krysia Osostowicz/Susan Tomes." - I'm assuming that the company licensed the two sets of recordings mentioned above.  The Brilliant box is likely a winner!  :D

Opus106

Quote from: SonicMan on December 06, 2008, 06:38:33 AM
Well, I don't own either of the chamber boxes mentioned, but I do have 5 CDs of Faure's Chamber Works, so likely have most of what is in those packages; two of the discs that I do own are: 1) Nash Ensemble - Piano Quartets; and 2) Quintetto Faure di Roma - Piano Quintets - these are excellent performances.

In reviewing the Brilliant Classics description the following is stated "Excellent performances by the Quintetto Fauré di Roma, the Ames Piano Quartet, the Nash Ensemble, the duo Krysia Osostowicz/Susan Tomes." - I'm assuming that the company licensed the two sets of recordings mentioned above.  The Brilliant box is likely a winner!  :D

Thanks, Dave, for sharing your opinion. Now that Que has posted about the 10-CD set, it's going to be even tougher to choose between the sets, assuming the new one is "economically priced," and also if I can get hold of it somewhere.
Regards,
Navneeth

Que

Quote from: opus67 on December 06, 2008, 06:59:35 AM
Thanks, Dave, for sharing your opinion. Now that Que has posted about the 10-CD set, it's going to be even tougher to choose between the sets, assuming the new one is "economically priced," and also if I can get hold of it somewhere.

Don't know if recording quality is an important consideration for you.
But just in case: the EMI chamber music set has recordings that are mostly from the late 60's and mid 70's.

Q

Opus106

Quote from: Que on December 06, 2008, 07:19:29 AM
Don't know if recording quality is an important consideration for you.
But just in case: the EMI chamber music set has recordings that are mostly from the late 60's and mid 70's.

Q

Not really an audiophile here. That's probably the average age of the recordings I have, i.e. the date of the original recordings - some of them were remastered much later. As long as it doesn't have noticeable hiss or things of that nature... :)
Regards,
Navneeth

Solitary Wanderer



I've just ordered this one on Amazon.

Complete Nocturnes on one disc and several great reviews so here goes...  :)
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte

SonicMan46

Quote from: Solitary Wanderer on December 06, 2008, 01:45:06 PM
 

I've just ordered this one on Amazon.  Complete Nocturnes on one disc and several great reviews so here goes...  :)

Chris - great!  Will be anxious to read your thoughts - I would not mind having another set of the Nocturnes - the CD ordered looks excellent from the reviews, as mentioned; but I was intrigued w/ the description on Amazon of the offering w/ Thyssens-Valentin as quoted below (and pictured added above) - these are from the '50s, so not sure about the sound quality - would love to hear some comments from others who may have heard and/or own these recordings?  :-\

QuoteGermaine Thyssens-Valentin is unfamiliar to most music lovers, but her 1950s series of Fauré recordings for an obscure French record label are among the best ever. They were made after she returned to concertizing from having abandoned a promising career to raise five children. Her affinity for Fauré's piano music is immediately apparent in the way she inhabits its inner core. The Nocturnes are elusive, reflective works, whose surface beauties conceal a world of deep, if understated, feeling. Like no other player in the catalogue, Thyssens-Valentin penetrates their depths, playing with gorgeous tone, brilliant technique that never calls attention to itself, and an attention to accompanying lines that give the music a rarely conveyed richness and density. In her Nocturne No. 3, for example, subsidiary lines are woven to enrich the melodic line in ways that make the version by Arthur Rubinstein (RCA) sound merely pretty. Her performances of other Nocturnes reveal that such contemporary pianists as Pascal Rogé (Decca) indulge in inappropriate Romantic excess, while Kathryn Stott (Hyperion) is unidiomatic and flat alongside Thyssens-Valentin's absolute "rightness." Great performances of great music. --Dan Davis

Solitary Wanderer

Quote from: SonicMan on December 06, 2008, 01:54:25 PM
Chris - great!  Will be anxious to read your thoughts - I would not mind having another set of the Nocturnes - the CD ordered looks excellent from the reviews, as mentioned; but I was intrigued w/ the description on Amazon of the offering w/ Thyssens-Valentin as quoted below (and pictured added above) - these are from the '50s, so not sure about the sound quality - would love to hear some comments from others who may have heard and/or own these recordings?  :-\


Hi Dave: Yes I was interested in that title as well, but ultimately put off 'cause some reviewers complained that the sound wasn't up to snuff  :-\
'I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells, listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass, and wondered how any one could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth.' ~ Emily Bronte

not edward

Quote from: 71 dB on December 06, 2008, 01:50:28 AM
I have a funny feeling that very cheap 5 CD EMI box goes to my wishlist...  :P

It's weird how neglected Fauré's chamber much is (same as Elgar!). Years ago I emailed Klaus Heymann a list of repertoire ideas including Faurés Piano Quartets & Quintets. So far nothing has happened. In fact, I bought the Decca twofer of these works because I got tired of waiting for Naxos releases.  ;D
I think it should! I bought the box 2 or 3 years ago for next to nothing, and it's been a regular visitor to my CD player ever since...wonderful music.
"I don't at all mind actively disliking a piece of contemporary music, but in order to feel happy about it I must consciously understand why I dislike it. Otherwise it remains in my mind as unfinished business."
-- Aaron Copland, The Pleasures of Music

71 dB

Quote from: edward on December 07, 2008, 09:36:17 AM
I think it should! I bought the box 2 or 3 years ago for next to nothing, and it's been a regular visitor to my CD player ever since...wonderful music.

If you look at the "purchases today" thread you'll see I not only put it in my wishlist but I bought it away!
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

The Six

The Nocturnes are interesting in how you can look at how he felt his life was deteriorating through them. The whole of the Nocturnes covers practically his whole life; the earlier ones are exceptional, of course, but still remain in a rather normal Romantic world. Then, minor keys dominate the later ones, and at least one comes about as close to atonality as you could get with Fauré.

schweitzeralan

Certainly a well known, often performed, acknowledged French master whose comositins included, among others, orchestral, vocal, chamber, choral, et. al.  I'm just writing to determine what the forum opines about Faure.  I am working on the fairly well known "Romance Sans Paroles,"a work wich I find enchanting.  I've been listening to some of his "Nocturnes," most notably the one in "C# Minor," and the one in "B minor." My listening habits generally tend toward early to mid 20th century; just my thing.  I find that Faure's works are, for the most part, conceived within 19th century harmonies. Quite prolific to be sure. Yet I have discovered that some of his later works suggest 20th century "imagery" and style. What little I've heard impresses me.  Any comments on this major French compser?

bhodges

(Note: I have merged schweitzeralan's new post with an older existing thread.  Apparently the Search function here gives different results for "Fauré" and "Faure," i.e., without an accent.  My hunch is that people searching usually won't include the accent in the search box, so I didn't do so here.  Carry on!  :D)

--Bruce