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Fanfare Magazine: 11:1 (09-10/1987)
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Harmonia Mundi
HMG501251
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(Abridgerd version)
André Campra (1660-1744), born in Aix-en-Provence, went from churches in the south of France to Notre-Dame in Paris. His name began to appear on record labels with the flurry of French Baroque recordings in the late '50s. This Requiem was one of Louis Frémaux's several contributions (Erato STE 50051; Westminster WST 17007; MHS 1822) in 1960, and it was recorded under John Eliot Gardiner in 1980 {Fanfare 7:2). This is the third recording to offer the conductor's own edition of the music, but it shaves nine minutes off the time agreed on by the previous two. More notable is the difference between the large forces and modern instruments of Frémaux and the authentic approach typical of the '80s.
Like Gardiner, Herreweghe boasts a splendid group of soloists. He uses only strings (Gardiner has woodwinds too), and his tempos shave up to two minutes off virtually every movement. The sound is superb, as Gardiner's was; Frémaux is still very listenable, but there's a slight veil over his sound. So the work has three splendid versions which will repay close study. If I had none, I'd buy the Herreweghe version for the exquisite conception and sound; if I already had the Gardiner, I'd be satisfied to keep it; if I had only Frémaux, I'd want to hear at least one of the newer recordings as well.
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