It's tragic, the way Fauré has been overlooked. People often reply that his music is "difficult", but I don't find his music inaccessible in the least (for either listener or preformer), certainly not any more inaccessible than the more popular impressionists; and I consider him up there with Chopin, Debussy, & the like.
The reason I would give for his lack of popularity is simply that he was never properly championed. Scriabin, for example, was championed by none other than Horowitz, and even still he remains a bit obscure; yet the efforts of Horowitz went a long way. Fauré, on the other hand, has had smaller names promote his work, some which have not done him full justice; and he was very much ignored by the big shots: what a pity we don't have recordings by Cortot or Rubenstien of the complete Fauré Nocturnes!
On a side note, I do believe that Valdo Perlemuter was perfect in Fauré, whom he recorded much of.
His time will come. I have faith in that.