Illustrious Circles

Donald Macleod finds Gabriel Fauré navigating his way through Parisian high society and setting poems by Paul Verlaine

Gabriel Fauré’s story begins during the second half of the 19th century, when the musical world was dominated by the heavily romantic voices of composers like Wagner, Brahms and Liszt. Fauré became a key protagonist in a musical revolution that opened audiences’ ears to new modes of expression - modern, refined and utterly French. As a composer, and as a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, he left a huge legacy on the music of the 20th century. This week Donald Macleod explores some of the many turning points in Fauré’s career, and how those events affected his life and his art.

During the mid to late 1880s, Gabriel Fauré found himself welcomed into the social circles of high society. He dedicated his famous Pavane to one of the pre-eminent Parisian hostesses, Elizabeth, the Countess Greffulhe. The poet and society figure, Count Robert de Montesquiou, introduced Fauré to the poetry of Verlaine. Composer and poet then met at the home of Princess Edmond de Polignac, whose glittering salons brought together many of the leading figures in French culture, like Diaghilev and Proust, with wealthy and influential citizens. During this heady time of networking, Fauré composed one of his most famous works, his Requiem. When it was first heard at the Madeleine church where Fauré worked, the clergy were not pleased at all.

Papillon, Op 77
Andreas Brantelid, cello
Bengt Forsberg, piano

Pavane, Op 50
City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor

Clair de lune, Op 46 No 2
Spleen Op 51 No 3
Mandoline, Op 58 No 1
Philippe Jaroussky, countertenor
Jérôme Ducros, piano

Requiem, Op 48
Sylvia McNair, soprano
Thomas Allen, baritone
John Birch, organ
Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chorus and Orchestra
Sir Neville Marriner, conductor

Produced by Luke Whitlock for BBC Wales