Fauré's musical upbringing included extensive study of Renaissance polyphonist composers and Gregorian modes, which had a profound effect on his compositional style.
Composer Biography
As a four-year-old, Fauré would improvise at the harmonium in his village college chapel, an experience that profoundly affected his compositional style.
Recording & Production
The piano used for this recording is an Erard from 1885, with piano technician Peter Roscoe.
Instruments
Robin Michael's cello is strung with raw and covered gut strings, which would have been the type of strings used when these works were originally performed.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Fauré, a quiet revolutionary, preferred to effect change from within, rather than as a rebel, and created a musical language entirely his own.
Composer Biography
Gabriel Fauré, the composer, studied with the venerable Camille Saint-Saëns and later served as his apprentice as organist at Église de la Madeleine.
Compositional Technique
Fauré's harmonic language, even in his late tonal music, was considered contemporary and went beyond the harmonic stretching of composers like Wagner.
