The Complete Songs of Faure, Vol.1

Featuring

Lorna Anderson
Nigel Cliffe
Ann Murray
John Chest
Iestyn Davies
Ben Johnson

Janis Kelly
Joan Rodgers
Malcolm Martineau
Gabriel Fauré

Did you know?

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Compositional Technique

In his later work, such as 'Le Jardin Clos', Fauré's music features pared-down keyboard writing, a continuous arioso for the singer, and complex interplay of harmony and bass with unexpected dissonances.

Composer Biography

Fauré was a pupil at the Ecole Niedermeyer in Paris, a school primarily for training church musicians, where he met his lifelong friend Saint-Saëns.

Composition History

Fauré's triptych 'Poème d'un jour' may have been his response to his broken engagement with Marianne Viardot, daughter of distinguished mezzo-soprano Pauline Viardot.

Composition History

Fauré composed at least 29 vocalises for sight-singing examinations between 1906 and 1916, which were recently unearthed and published in 2014.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Fauré learned to value monotony in his music, believing it could make subsequent surprises burst upon the listener with increased impact.

Composer Biography

Fauré became a professor of composition at the Paris Conservatoire in 1896, succeeding Massenet, and later became its Director in 1905, taking a special interest in teaching singing.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Fauré, the composer, disliked pretentious pianism and often 'improved' on poets' texts for musical reasons, preferring suggestion and nuance over grand gestures.