This wonderful piece was actually not written just by Fauré: the variations were developed by Alphonse Hasselmans, the theme and the slow parts are original by Fauré.
My teacher had the luck to know and work with the harpist for whom this piece was dedicated and she explained that it was written for the diplomas of that year in Parish Conservatory : the students used to have a month to study a brand new piece especially written for them and they were so lucky Fauré accepted to compose it, but he had not enough time to finish it all.
This is a monumental music for harp: so musical and virtuoso in the same time - every time you find something special that gives new meaning and color to it.
Unfortunately it is common use now to play it way faster than the written metronome and even if it gives the piece a more brilliant character, it loses its perfect balance and structure and the listener misses a lot of tiny details - you can also hear an unstable tempo, the variations even double the speed of the tema.
I had a little free time in this church so I decided to record it, trying to bring it back as possible to its original quiet spirit; yet, there is still so much to say, enlighten and work on this music.
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