This has always been one of the best recorded performances of the 1901 score of Faure's Requiem (when it first appeared, of course, no other edition was available), and it easily stands up to comparison with most of its present day rivals. The tempos are never sluggish, urgency of expression is not sacrificed to sweetness, and although the organ is not always audible it is sometimes very enjoyably tangible. The choral singing is excellent, Burrowes is touchingly pure in her solo and Cook is effectively earnest in his. Above all, the centrality in Faure's palette of expressively grainy divided lower strings is evident throughout.
The Cantique, for once, is taken at a sensible speed and given some intensity of expression (most other conductors remove its bones and smother it with incense-flavoured white sauce), and the Ballade is decently done, with a charmingly poetic conclusion. The recordings are not digital, of course, and that of the Ballade shows its age slightly, but the dynamic range is satisfying and there is a good sense of space in the Requiem. Still recommended. '