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Avie Records

Faure: Complete Nocturnes / Charles Owen

$19.99 Only 1 left

Details

Composer
FAURE, GABRIEL
Artist
Charles Owen
Format
CD
Label
Avie Records
Released
Mar 01, 2008
Catalog #
AV2133
UPC
822252213324

About

Unaffectedly straightforward with a disarming simplicity in which charm lifts imperceptibly into the most intense utterance, moving us compellingly through the salon-like early pieces to the increasingly desolate soundscapes of old age. Exemplary. Classic. Spellbinding.

3211180.az_FAURE_Nocturnes_Charles.html

FAURÉ Nocturnes (complete) Charles Owen (pn) AVIE 2133 (79:36)


Fauré’s son, Philippe Fauré-Fremiet, described the composer’s playing: “His hands were strong and looked heavy; in fact they were supple and light. He hardly raised them above the keys but was able to obtain any effect he wanted. He had a horror of virtuosity, of rubato and effects aimed at making the audience swoon. He followed the printed notes meticulously, keeping strict time. What was so overpowering about his playing lay below the surface, in the areas of thought and emotion where teaching is helpless to guide you.” To which Jessica Duchen, in her annotations for David Jalbert’s unfortunate tilt at the nocturnes (Endeavour 1014, Fanfare 30:1), adds, “To play Fauré’s piano works successfully, a pianist must have a tremendously flexible technique, a strong sense of contrapuntal voicing and, perhaps above all, the ability to convey those sensuous, intertwining lines and subtle harmonies without allowing structural rigor to slacken. While playing this music with no expressive fluctuation whatsoever could seem excessive, a healthy respect for his ‘pudeur’—modesty veiling the immense sensuality beneath—is as essential to faithful Fauré interpretation as good posture is to the dance.” Both observations describe Charles Owen’s way with the nocturnes—unaffectedly straightforward, rhythmically steady (but breathing and never rigid or inflexible), the pedal sparingly used, allowing a light touch (graciously deft in animated passages) to articulate with absolute clarity while imparting moments of aquarelle-like color (rather than the heavily sustained impasto of the average pianist), all making for a disarming simplicity in which charm lifts imperceptibly into the most intense utterance, moving us compellingly through the salon-like early pieces, the opulent ecstasies of the middle nocturnes, and the increasingly desolate and despairing soundscapes of old age. Duchen confects a final elegance with other, no less gracefully penetrating, annotations. Avie captures Owen closely, at the optimal point where clarity flares into spaciousness. Exemplary. Classic. Spellbinding. And enthusiastically recommended.


FANFARE: Adrian Corleonis

Tracklist 13 tracks

  1. 1 Nocturne No. 1 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 33, No. 1 07:05
    Track
    1
    Title
    Nocturne No. 1 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 33, No. 1
    Duration
    07:05
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  2. 2 Nocturne No. 2 in B Major, Op. 33, No. 2 05:32
    Track
    2
    Title
    Nocturne No. 2 in B Major, Op. 33, No. 2
    Duration
    05:32
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  3. 3 Nocturne No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 33, No. 3 05:06
    Track
    3
    Title
    Nocturne No. 3 in A-Flat Major, Op. 33, No. 3
    Duration
    05:06
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  4. 4 Nocturne No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 36 07:36
    Track
    4
    Title
    Nocturne No. 4 in E-Flat Major, Op. 36
    Duration
    07:36
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  5. 5 Nocturne No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 37 07:36
    Track
    5
    Title
    Nocturne No. 5 in B-Flat Major, Op. 37
    Duration
    07:36
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  6. 6 Nocturne No. 6 in D-Flat Major, Op. 63 08:38
    Track
    6
    Title
    Nocturne No. 6 in D-Flat Major, Op. 63
    Duration
    08:38
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  7. 7 Nocturne No. 7 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 74 08:06
    Track
    7
    Title
    Nocturne No. 7 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 74
    Duration
    08:06
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  8. 8 Nocturne No. 8 in D-Flat Major, Op. 84 02:21
    Track
    8
    Title
    Nocturne No. 8 in D-Flat Major, Op. 84
    Duration
    02:21
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  9. 9 Nocturne No. 9 in B Minor, Op. 97 04:18
    Track
    9
    Title
    Nocturne No. 9 in B Minor, Op. 97
    Duration
    04:18
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  10. 10 Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 99 05:06
    Track
    10
    Title
    Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 99
    Duration
    05:06
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  11. 11 Nocturne No. 11 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 104, No. 1 04:21
    Track
    11
    Title
    Nocturne No. 11 in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 104, No. 1
    Duration
    04:21
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  12. 12 Nocturne No. 12 in E Minor, Op. 107 06:09
    Track
    12
    Title
    Nocturne No. 12 in E Minor, Op. 107
    Duration
    06:09
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen
  13. 13 Nocturne No. 13 in B Minor, Op. 119 07:25
    Track
    13
    Title
    Nocturne No. 13 in B Minor, Op. 119
    Duration
    07:25
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Charles Owen