Fauré, Duruflé: Requiems

1. Requiem, for 2 solo voices chorus, organ, & orchestra, Op. 48
Composed by Gabriel Faure
Conducted by Edward Higginbottom

2. Requiem for soprano, baritone, chorus, organ, & orchestra, Op. 9
Composed by Maurice Durufle
Conducted by Edward Higginbottom

Product Description

Amazon.com
The Choir of New College, Oxford, always can be counted on to deliver a musically solid and vocally rich and sonorous performance. This all-male (men and boys) choir has a very long performance tradition, going back more than 600 years, and it's not unreasonable to believe that this line of succession has an important measure of effect on performances today. The Fauré heard here uses the 1893 chamber-orchestra instrumentation, edited by John Rutter, and employs a boy soprano for the Pie Jesu. Duruflé's sublimely sensual work, with its more modern harmonies, requires a slightly different interpretive sensibility than the more traditional Fauré--and the choir's maturity and experience show in every bar. Both of these outstanding works are given performances worth having and hearing over and over again. --David Vernier

Amazon.com

The Choir of New College, Oxford, always can be counted on to deliver a musically solid and vocally rich and sonorous performance. This all-male (men and boys) choir has a very long performance tradition, going back more than 600 years, and it's not unreasonable to believe that this line of succession has an important measure of effect on performances today. The Fauré heard here uses the 1893 chamber-orchestra instrumentation, edited by John Rutter, and employs a boy soprano for the Pie Jesu. Duruflé's sublimely sensual work, with its more modern harmonies, requires a slightly different interpretive sensibility than the more traditional Fauré--and the choir's maturity and experience show in every bar. Both of these outstanding works are given performances worth having and hearing over and over again. --David Vernier

Customer Reviews:

Great, but be forewarned..........2000-02-02

This is one of the few recordings of these pieces that I can listen to without intermittently hitting the skip button. The singing is techincally brilliant without sounding brittle or overly dramatic. The soloist in the Pie Jesu is competent if not awe-inspiring, which is more than can be said of most recordings using boy soloists. What I like most about this CD is that the sound levels between the musicians and chorus are fine! The brass does not overwhelm the choir at strategic points, and the trebels don't squeak over everyone else. This may not be the most officially historically accurate rendition out there, but it is definitely the easiest one to listen to. Just one warning: These are not the same recordings as appear on the Angus Dei CDs also put out by New College and Capricorn. If you liked the Faure Requiem pieces on those CDs, you'll probably like this recording too, but they do sound different.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Home & Abroad [Limited Edition] [Live] [Import]

RACHMANINOV: The Bells, Spring, Vocalise

Pure Ella

Music: Goodnight, Angel

Poptastic 80's [Import]

Rhythms of the Soul

Sacred Steel on Tour! [Live]

Mozart: Sopran-Arien

Outside Chance

Makhlouta [Import]

Party [Extra tracks] [Original recording remastered]

Planet Pop 2000 [Import]

Module 02 [Import]

Mozart: Symphonies 39 & 41/Figaro Overture

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