Collard Fauré

Faure's outpout for the piano is prodigious, but the intensely introspective nature of his music has eluded performers and audience alike. Thankfully, pianists like Collard have made this music available to the public. Collard's Faure is buoyant, lyrical, youthful and therefore somewhat straight forward, yet it is an approach that rescues this music from sentimentality, especially in those written during Faure's early period. For example, when compared to Paul Crossley, whose Valses-Caprice stretches rhythmic freedom beyond good taste, Collard's no-nonsense reading brings out the vitality of these exquisite pieces. If you like Chopin already but are not familiar with Faure, this would be a good introduction.

It's good to have this collection of Fauré chamber music, played by French performers, still available in the catalog. Fauré's music doesn't appeal to everyone, despite its late-Romantic idiom; most of it is very subtle, almost withdrawn, and to get the most out of it takes a lot of listening. That listening is eventually rewarded by a rich experience. Fauré's most overtly romantic and exciting chamber piece, the Piano Quartet No. 1, is included in this set, and should appeal to most listeners.

The music on this 2-disc set and its companion 'Vol 2' set is among the loveliest chamber music you can find anywhere, at least to my mind. Most people know Faure for his gentle 'Requiem,' but anyone wanting to explore the melody-rich world of late 19th-century French Romanticism can't go wrong with these recordings. All of this music is utterly non-flashy and breathtakingly beautiful, never cloying or oversweet like so many works of this period. Faure, an essentially old fashioned guy, was a consummate craftsman and an imaginative melodist.

Faure may still not be the best known composer of chamber music, but this issue with two of his major works tells us yet again what a good one he was. The excellent craftsmanship we may take for granted, but although he did not wear his heart on his sleeve there is a real passion in this writing too, as the surging opening movement of the C minor Piano Quartet (written in his early thirties) reminds us.

Chamber music might well contain the quintessence of Gabriel Fauré’s art, in particular the extremely refined late masterpieces that can be placed at the pinnacle of French instrumental music for their amazing harmonic research. From these great cycles to early popular works like the Berceuse or the Élégie, this collection enraptures the unique magic of Fauré’s music. Featured artists include Christian Ferras, Jacqueline du Pré, Gautier & Renaud Capuçon, Jean Hubeau, Michel Debost, the Quatuor Ébène.

The collection gathers the best relaxing tunes from the piano repertoire performed by most eminent musicians: Piotr Anderszewski, Leif Ove Andsnes, Daniel Barenboim, Bertrand Chamayou, Aldo Ciccolini, Samson François, Hélène Grimaud, Stephen Kovacevich, Nicolai Lugansky, Maria-João Pires, Maurizio Pollini, Anne Queffélec, Alexandre Tharaud and Alexis Weissenberg.