Credits:

Herve Niquet

Description:

[From Belgium, a Powerhouse of Early Music: Period Conductor Nique Takes on Francks Lesser-Known Works Head-On]Born and raised in eastern Belgium, close to the German-speaking region, Franck is better known for the major works he composed after naturalizing as a French citizen and becoming an active member of the Socit Nationale de Musique in Paris than for his early compositions. While his symphonies and the Violin Sonata in A Major are representative examples, during his lifetime Franck was actually knowneven before the founding of the Socit Nationale de Musiqueas an organist of rare talent. Although he composed important works from the mid-to-late period that reexamined Christianity from the perspective of 19th-century artistsmuch like Liszt and Brahmssurprisingly few of these works have been recorded. This *Expiation* is precisely one such work; aside from the frequently performed interlude