Once with everything. In its simplicity, the well-known phrase from streetcusine can also be applied to high culture by the brave. Marc Coppey and François Dumont's latest album, Fauré authentique, is also available once with everything. The subtitle: Complete Works for Cello and Piano.
Fauré authetique, recorded by Marc Coppey on the cello and François Dumont on the piano, offers over an hour of melodious music. The Allegretto moderato for Two Cellos is supported by Pauline Bartissol as second cellist. The recording encompasses the complete oeuvre for piano and cello by the French composer of the fin de siècle. Two pieces are only half Fauré: Aprés un rêve, Op 7/1 was arranged for the instrumental duo by Pablo Casals, while Marc Coppey himself arranged Bercuse from Dolly, Op. 56/1.
Most of the works are short compositions that stand on their own. In addition, there is the Sonata N° 1 pour violoncelle et piano Op. 109 and the Sonata N° 2 pour violoncelle et piano Op. 117, each of which celebrates integrative sound development with three movements.
The sonatas are also the compositions in which the expertise of composer and interpreter is most evident. Fauré's gently melodic elements, the expressive dynamics - Coppey and Dumont play them coherently and captivatingly at the same time. The dialogue between the instruments is an interwoven collaboration between two voices that strive to carry, support and complement each other at all times. The excellent interplay in the Sicilienne, Op. 78, is also beautiful to experience.
What is enchanting in the compositions is once again what Volker Hagedorn already described in 2011 in Die Zeit as "perfume-free charm and tamed melancholy" - unpretentious music that reveals all its emotion to the listener in its purest form without ever overdoing it. On this album, the sound is also excellent.
One reason for the excellent and gentle acoustics could be the grand piano played by François Dumont. It is an instrument by the piano maker Érard, a grand piano from 1891 with a length of 2.12 metres, which was much appreciated by Fauré. Tuned to 435 hertz, it is a shade lower than the standard tuning of 440 hertz. This may also take away a possible sharpness in the treble.
The recording of Gabriel Fauré's compositions for cello and piano has been released on the audite label. There is nothing to add to this Latin imperative: Listen! (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)
Marc Coppey, cello
François Dumont, piano