Faure's a Jolly Good Fellow

The Faure Album. Chamber music played by Gil Shaham, violin, with Akira Eguchi piano and for a few tracks Brinton Smith on cello. The album was recorded by Gil Shaham on his own label after he was purged by DG when the major companies suffered their crisis in confidence in classical music. It represents the kind of programming that the majors wouldn't do anyway and which smaller independent companies excel at and hopefully thrive doing. It is beautiful yet quietly passionate music. Faure is looked upon as a bridge in France between romanticism and the more impressionist developments of the 20th century, especially in his teaching role at the Paris conservatoire, but I think that can tend to underplay the quality of his own music.