Fauré: Requiem / Messe Basse / Cantique De Jean Racine – Choir Of King’s College

   in Choir & Organ (Nov, 2014)
In the 1960s, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, under David Willcocks made a celebrated recording of the Faure Requiem, which became something of a benchmark. Stephen Cleobury’s new recording deserves to do the same. Using the period brass and strings of the OAE, Cleobury opts for Marc Rigaudiere’s edition, which aims to recreate the 1889 premiere of Faure’s most popular piece. It is not without its own surprises: for example, the baritone’s ‘Hostias’ is heard without the choral bookends of the later Offertoire. (For good measure, the later expanded version of the movement is also included as a separate track.) It’s an engaging and admirable performance, the muted colours of …