Having spent his life part-way between his mystical hopes and the temporal desires of the flesh, Gounod seems to have found in music something to satisfy his religious desires, whether in religious music (which makes up a very large portion of his catalogue), or in his operas, where the church is never far away, if we consider the mystical scenes in Faust, Romeo and Juliet or Mireille.
Released in 1993 to mark the centenary of Charles Gounod's death, this album presents religious pieces composed for both the stage and bourgeois salons where the music of the organ or the harmonium would add to the mystic frisson. Ave Maria, Ave Verum, Agnus Dei, O Salutaris serve here as the expression of an intimate devotion, whereas others could be played as part of a liturgical repertoire, such as La Prière de Jeanne d’Arc or Repentir.
It also includes some pieces where mysticism joins hands with patriotism, in particular in the wake of France's military collapse in 1870, with works like Gallia. This is a chance to discover another Gounod, by turns touching and declamatory, with a refined approach to instrumentation, from teary-eyed violin solos, to fluttering flights on the harp or piano, all supported by heavenly organ sounds. There is very much a Second Empire feel on display here in this art so full of the pomp that was once much decried, and today is so admired by visitors to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. © François Hudry/Qobuz