Herve Billaut – Gabriel Faure (2007) [SACD / Lyrinx – LYR 2253]

Title: Herve Billaut – Gabriel Faure (2007)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + DSF DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Hervé Billaut is a French classical pianist. For this release for Lyrinx label he is performed the classical works by Gabriel Fauré – Nocturnes, Preludes, and Ballade.

It was during a period of about forty years that Gabriel Fauré’s piano works were created. A highly important period in musical history in that these years, according to Harry Halbreich, “witnessed considerable changes both in general history and musical language. When Fauré wrote his first piano works, Wagner and Liszt were still alive and Brahms was at his creative peak. In France, Saint-Saëns and Lalo dominated instrumental music, and César Franck had not yet composed his most important scores. At the time of the 13th Nocturne, Fauré’s last piano masterpiece, the greatest revolution in musical history, embodied by Schoenberg and Stravinsky, had already taken place, and the young Group of Six had already made its first impact. The post-1918 era constituted an artistic and spiritual universe dizzyingly distant from that of Fauré’s youth.” With a program comprising the First Nocturne Op. 33 n°1, the Ballade Op. 19, the Nocturne n°6 Op. 63, Thème & Variations Op. 73, 9 Préludes Op. 103, and the Nocturne n°13 Op. 119, pianist Hervé Billaut invites us to a poetic, sensual and meditative reading of these pieces. His approach unlatches a lively and passionate musical discourse where his reading of the proposed works offers unforgettable colors. All seems to overflow with fervor under the fingers of a virtuoso, and the weight of the notes never loses its substance but rather embodies a melancholic and peaceful language. In a well-crafted DSD recording in stereo and multi-channel, this Fauré recital can be ranked among the most inspired.

hraudio | discogs

Tracklist:

01. Nocturne for piano No. 1 in E flat minor, Op. 33/1
02. Ballade for piano & orchestra (or piano solo) in F sharp major, Op. 19
03. Nocturne for piano No. 6 in D flat major, Op. 63
04. Thème et variations, for piano in C sharp minor, Op. 73
05. Préludes (9) for piano, Op. 103
06. Nocturne for piano No. 13 in B minor, Op. 119

Note:

Recorded on June 16-19, 2007 at Chepelle Des Dames reunites, Marseille, France.

Download: