César Franck - Les Béatitudes (Gergely Madaras)

Information

Composer: César Franck

• Les Béatitudes, CFF 185

Anne-Catherine Gillet; Héloïse Mas

Ève-Maud Hubeaux; John Irvin

Artavazd Sargsyan; David Bižić

Patrick Bolleire; Yorck Felix Speer

Hungarian National Choir / Csaba Somos, 

Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège

Gergely Madaras, conductor

Date: 2024

Label: Fuga Libera

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Review

This is why he was called ‘Pater Seraphicus’. Composed across a decade and requiring eight soloists, choir and orchestra, Les Béatitudes is the two-hour zenith of Franck’s sacred expressions. Nonetheless, as is clear from the vigorously restless opening of the first béatitude, this is not the purely assuaging work that might be expected from an oratorio about the Sermon on the Mount. Each of Christ’s eight pronouncements is preceded by a challenging exploration of the human need it addresses. The Angel of Death and Satan make appearances, and are duly vanquished, along with the Mater Dolorosa, peacemakers, a panoply of mourning characters, to name but a few.

The text may be a period piece, but Franck’s glorious music is timeless. Lacking the narrative arc of conventional oratorios, the handful of previous recordings capture the contemplative essence of Les Béatitudes, but underplay its spiritual drama. This incisive newcomer, taken live from bicentenary performances in Franck’s birthplace, Liège, manages both. Rich-voiced bass Yorck Felix Speer’s wayward French aside, the soloists are generally strong, notably baritone David Bižić’s authoritative yet compassionate voice of Christ.

Bass Patrick Bolleire admirably characterises diverse roles, from a ‘celestial voice’ to an imposing Satan, while sublime soprano Anne-Catherine Gillet is similarly versatile, especially as a profoundly moving grieving wife. The Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège are superb, while the Hungarian National Choir adroitly reflects the shifting moods. Plaudits go to conductor Gergely Madaras for marshalling the vast forces to create a vivid performance that is a clear first choice in this marvellous work.

— Christopher Dingle

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César Franck (10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life. As an organist he was particularly noted for his skill in improvisation. Franck is considered by many the greatest composer of organ music after Bach. Franck exerted a significant influence on music. He helped to renew and reinvigorate chamber music and developed the use of cyclic form. He became professor at the Paris Conservatoire in 1872, his pupils included Vincent d'Indy, Ernest Chausson, Louis Vierne, Charles Tournemire, Guillaume Lekeu and Henri Duparc.

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Gergely Madaras (born 1984 in Budapest) is a Hungarian conductor. He graduated from the Liszt Academy and the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he studied with Mark Stringer. Madaras was the inaugural Sir Charles Mackerras Fellow at the English National Opera and has conducted at leading European opera houses. Named 2025 "Conductor of the Year" at the Bartok Radio Awards, he recently completed a successful tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (2019–25). Previously, he led the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne (2013–19) and the Savaria Symphony (2014–2020).

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