Fauré: Requiem - Gounod: Messe de Clovis

French composer Gabriel Fauré was lumbered, by all accounts, with a sub-standard choir at the church of La Madeleine in Paris, where he was organist. Somehow, however, he still mustered the enthusiasm to compose for them one of his best-loved works. This performance of the Requiem (featuring top-flight singers) uses the 1893 orchestral scoring in which Fauré omits violins and woodwind. This seemingly odd choice had its logic. The organ at La Madeleine was light on two-foot registers and mixtures, meaning that its sound was deep and luxurious—a match, perhaps, for the church’s heavy-set gilded interior. Fauré clearly wanted organ and orchestra to dovetail. Hervé Niquet recreates that orchestral intensity with just 16 players plus organ, complemented by a chamber choir of 24 singers. The resulting blend is remarkable, heard to greatest effect in the “Kyrie” and the melodically inspired “Agnus Dei.” Partnering the Requiem is a rare curiosity. Composed for choir and organ, Gounod’s Messe de Clovis was published posthumously in 1896 and evokes Gregorian chant and Palestrina-like counterpoint, all within a sophisticated 19th-century sensibility. It receives a fine performance here, the clarity of the playing and singing shining welcome light on Gounod’s understated craftsmanship. Two small works, by Aubert and Caplet (the latter orchestrated Debussy’s “Clair de lune” to great effect) provide a charming sign-off, and a window into the music that would have been heard wafting down from Paris’ famed organ lofts during the mid- to late-19th century.