Some favorite classical recordings

[Feanor]

I'm starting this thread in case there's some interest. I know that classical music is of interest only to a minority, but maybe some good recommendations will help a few to expand their interests.

I'm not a musician so I won't be recommending much of anything purely on the basis of great performance ... nor "great" music for that matter, though I'll mention it if a particular piece happens to be among the iconic works as defined by broad consensus.

I will usually comment on the sound quality which will always be average or better.

My first instalment ...

"Lux Æterna"; religiously-inspired choral works by Maurice Duruflé, Francis Poulenc, and Olivier Messiaen, all 29th century French composers. (Don't worry: nothing here is atonal or weird by most people's standards). The performance is by The Gents male ensemble and female choir, accompanied by pipe organ.

This is a two-disc hybrid SACD album from Channel Classics, CCS SA 22405,

The sound is great to my ear, whether multi-channel SACD or the stereo CD layer. This type of choral work, IMHO, is the sort that benefits the most from decent multi-channel presentation, and this particular one is very fine.

My favorite piece on the album is Duruflé's Requiem which is a very beautiful work. It was supposedly inspired by Gabriel Faure's also very beautiful (and more famous) Requiem composed many years earlier.