Rosanne Hunt

Vocal

Fauré is a song composer of major importance, capturing in his settings the spirit of his time, the mood of nostalgic yearning for the unattainable. Some of the songs, such as Après un rêve (After a Dream) have achieved even wider popularity in instrumental transcription. In addition to individual songs of great beauty, Lydia, Clair de lune, Les roses d'Ispahan, Sylvia, En prière and many others, there are song cycles, including the Verlaine settings La bonne chanson and Cinq mélodies de Venise, L'horizon chimérique, La chanson d'Eve and Le jardin clos.

Church Music

Fauré's Requiem remains a standard element in choral repertoire, with its setting of funeral rites, rather than the full Requiem Mass of tradition. The earlier Messe basse (Low Mass) was originally a collaborative compositon of 1881 with Messager, but in final revision in 1906 consisting of four Mass movements by Fauré himself.

Chamber Music

Chamber music by Fauré includes two fine Violin Sonatas and the Piano Trio and String Quartet of his last years. There are several evocative smaller pieces, including the Romance, Berceuse and Andante for violin and piano and the Elégie, Romance and Sérénade for cello and piano.

Piano Music

Fauré made a significant addition to piano repertoire, particularly in a series of thirteen Barcarolles and a similar number of Nocturnes, with five Impomptus and a single Ballade. The piano duet Dolly Suite was written in the 1890s for the daughter of Emma Bardac, later wife of Debussy, after divorce from her banker husband, a singer for whom Fauré wrote La bonne chanson.