Customer Rating:  
Summary: Excellently performed, but I find this version of the requiem a little flat
Comment: For this release Naxos has turned to the Denis Arnold edition of the requiem, which is more austere than the familiar orchestral versions. In that sense this version places itself somewhere between the familiar full orchestral one and the more sparse (and frankly quite tasteless) original one (I have no idea where this oh-so-trendy paring down of the ensemble comes from; it turns a beautiful, stirring piece into a pretty mediocre one). So, gone is the brass elements and the harp, and the mysteriousness and almost levitating quality of the work is reduced to something earth-bound and sometimes dull. It is well played however, and if you are looking for a version like this, the Naxos release here is certainly competitive.
The less well-known Messe Basse is, however, very well played (and sung), and the Cantique de Jean Racine likewise so. The Tantum ergo by Severac is an interesting addition, although the Vierne Andante is forgettable (it is one of this masterly composer's least interesting throw-away chisels). Recording is a little dull and muffled, but I guess there is no way of avoiding a firm recommendation, even though I found the version of the main work inferior to some of the other contenders.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Hardly Audible
Comment: Do not buy this recording. The quality is very poor. The "Cantique de Jean Racine" is hardly audible. Better pay a little more for a better recording. This one is a waste.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Back to the basics
Comment: I've heard at least 5 different Faure Requiems (Giulini, Matthew Best, Bernstein, etc.) and this one is unique and my favorite. You have the original stripped down forces. As the most gentle of all Requiems, this is absolutely apt, for without the full orchestra, this Naxos version acheives a sublime intimacy that others, although more powerfully moving at times, are not more GENTLY moving. I think this is the key. Just a side note, but thanks goodness for Naxos, for they have allowed countless lesser-known talent be known to the world and shine... and for a bargain price at that.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A true masterpiece
Comment: Faure's Requiem is one of the most sublime pieces that has ever been written. It contains music that is almost too perfect to be real. Whether it be the opening of the "Agnus Dei", with a melody so beautiful and tender that it makes you want to cry, or the "Lux Aeterna" passage, where one gets the impression of everything stopping and a light shining down from Heaven, this Requiem is the work of a true master. As good as this particular recording is, I'm surprised it's not more well known. It is the best I've I heard, even compared to the more famous recordings. I would recommend this CD to anyone.
Customer Rating:
Summary: GENTLE AND PERSONAL
Comment: MAY I PARAPHRASE GABRIEL FAURE--"I'VE WRITTEN A GENTLE LITTLE REQUIEM, AS GENTLE AS I AM." HOW TRUE. ABSENT ARE THE SWIRLING STRINGS, THE SNARLING BRASS AND HEAVEN STORMING MASSIVE CHORAL FORCES OF BERLIOZ, VERDI AND BRAHMS. NEITHER DO WE HEAR THE CASTILLIAN PASSION OF MORALES, OR THE SOMETIMES LACRIMAL, SOMETIMES DETACHED SORROW OF MOZART. NO, THIS IS A FRENCH BEATITUDE--"BLESSED ARE THEY THAT MOURN..." AND, INDEED, WE ARE COMFORTED. THE YOUNG MR. SUMMERLY AND HIS EXQUISITE SCHOLA HAVE GIVEN US THE ORIGINAL VERSION IN SUCH PURE AND SIMPLE TERMS THAT ONE SLIGHT ERROR IN EXECUTION WOULD SHATTER THE CRYSTALLINE NATURE OF THIS WORK. NO SUCH ERRORS EXIST. ALONG WITH DAVID WILCOCKS EMI CHAMBER RECORDING, THE "OTHER" 5-STAR RELEASE, THIS BARGAIN FROM NAXOS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST TO OWN. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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