LSO/ Pappano/ Chang Barbican London Rating: ****

The Greek philosopher Epicurus argued that religion instilled a terror of death and eternal punishment in its adherents. It would seem that Gabriel Fauré, though a fervent Catholic, thought on similar lines: when he came to write his Requiem in 1888, he removed the prospect of damnation from Christian eschatology by jettisoning the bulk of the text of the Dies Irae. The end result avoids apocalyptic cataclysm and focuses on consolation - and can lead to terrible drawbacks in performance, as conductor after conductor laces Fauré's pacific vision with cloying sentimentality.

LSO/ Pappano Barbican Hall, London ****