71 minutes of Fauré. Heaven.
Renaud Capuçon maximises his association with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. begins with something of a miracle: Capuçon dares to begin with the one movement we have of a Violin Concerto in D-Minor, Op. 14 (the second movement was destroyed and the finale failed to materialise). Written in 1879, there are a smattering of previous recordings (discussed after Capuçon’s). The piece disappeared mainly because Fauré’s publisher, Hamelie, did not want to risk publication
The lightness aorund the eight minute mark is pure Fauré just as much as the long, expansive melodies speak of a Fauré chanson. The Lausanne Chamber Orchestra under Capuçon’s direction is supremely calibrated, and heard in a fine DG recording from Lausanne’s Théâtre de Beaulieu. Towards the end, Capuçon’s violin sings like a bird, high up, sweet, remarkable:
On every single level, Capuçon is preferable to Rodolfo Bonucci on can old ASV disc (with the Orquesta Filarmonica de la Cuidad de Mexico under Enrique Bátiz). As so often, the ASV recording lacks bloom (it is not as dry as some from that company in fairness, but it is thin) and Bonucci lacks both Capuçon’s technical prowess and his musicality. For Capuçon, the music sings; Bonucci is more laboured. At the other end of the recoding scale is the performance by Moshe Atzmon with the Orchestre Symphonique de Brétonne. Plummy, crowded and muddied in the lower mid and bass ranges, it is dead in the water before Atzmon even enters. Strangely, the violin is recorded so closely it sounds scratchy. A shame, as Atzmon is a fine fiddler. Unsurprisingly there are no recording issues on the Hyperion release of rare French works. Here, the Ulster Orchestra under Thierry Fischer a is heard in a finely balanced recording; the soloist is the eloquent Philippe Graffin.
So there are only really two contenders: Capuçon and Graffin. It comes down to couplings: if you want a multi-composer disc, go for Graffin; if you want all-Fauré, stay right here.
Masques et Bergamasques is vastly more popular on disc: I like Capuçon’s sense of dignity in the Menuet:
I also like the post-Baroquerie of the vividly-etched Gavotte, full of pageantry:
The concluding Pastoale is simply beautiful; the Lauanne players are on top form. It cedes to a piece of markedly more intensity, the Elégie for cello and orchestra, with Julia Hagen (off the Hagen String Quartet) as soloist. It was originally for cello and piano but Fauré orchestrated it by request There is passion aplenty here:
… although this is the benchmark, Paul Tortelier with the Orchestre National du Capitol du Toulouse and Michel Plasson:
This beautifully programmed DG disc continues with Fauré’s glorious Pelléas et Mélisande. Everybody knows Debussy’s take, but Fauré’s (as well as, incidentally, Sibelius’) deserves to be heard. Listen to the beauty of the Prélude:
The “Fileuse” oozes grace; and everybody surely knows the “Sicilienne”. Capuçon’s rapid pace suits his conception of the piece well, and the textures are gossamer. Moreover, it contrasts superbly with “La mort de Mélisande,” a funeral processional:
Wonderful to have Fauré’s Ballade for piano and orchestra here. It would be good to hear this more in concert halls (I think I’ve heard it once live). Bellom is a fine pianist, but perhaps his lines could catch just that bit more sense of fantasy. The piece is in F sharp-Major a key which, despite its plethora of sharps in the key signature, fits under the hands a whole lot more than C-Major! Here is the Ballade:
… and a reminder of another reference recording, this time Jean-Philippe Collard, again the orchestra is the Toulouse band under Plasson:
Two favourites close: the perennial Pavane, gentle, lovely, and the Berceuse in its version for violin and orchestra. Renaud Capuçon therefore bookends the disc. More gossamer playing:
.. and here’s the vision or violin and piano, a classic account by Jacques Thibaud and Alfred Cortot recorded in Paris in 1931:
In sum, then, Capuçon’s disc is glorious. By all means enjoy the alternatives presented above, but this thoughtfully programmed and superbly performed DG disc is chock full of ravishing beauty.
The disc is available at Amazon here. Streaming links below.
