French Music for the Stage
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DELIBES / MASSENET / AUBER / BOIELDIEU / THOMAS
French Music for the Stage
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
[ Chandos / CD ]
Release Date: Friday 5 March 2021
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
For their latest album, Neeme Järvi and his Estonian National Symphony Orchestra present a delightful programme of lesser-known stage music from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Overtures by Thomas, Auber and Boieldieu were all composed for works staged at the OpéraComique in Paris, and are wonderful examples of the period.
The 'Scène du bal' and 'Vieille Chanson' from Le Roi s'amuse were written by Delibes in 1882 as incidental music for Victor Hugo's play, first performed in 1832 but banned after the first performance because it was deemed to be an attack on the reigning monarch, Louis Philippe. The play, which went on to form the basis of the libretto for Verdi's Rigoletto, was eventually revived with some success, with Delibes's score an important factor. Massenet's one-act ballet Espada dates from 1908, and is the most recent - and most substantial - work on the album. Set in Spain, the work clearly owes more than one idea to Bizet's Carmen ('The Card Game' and 'March of the Toreadors' for example), but musically and orchestrally it is pure Massenet.
"… This super disc gives much enjoyment, and exudes orchestral colour… the sound is to Chandos's usual high standard. Nigel Simeone's essay, concise and informative, adds to the listening pleasure. All in all, this is a most rewarding and highly recommendable disc." MusicWeb Recommended
"There's much to enjoy here and admire, both in the performances and the selections on hand, which hardly dwell on the usual suspects or limit themselves too narrowly." TheArtsFuse
"… [the performance] displays the splendid conjunction of subtlety and élan we have come to expect from these performers… the disc is worth buying for the music by Ambroise Thomas and Delibes… Delibes's incidental music to Le Roi s'amuse, with its passing modal inflections and abundant charm, provides the undoubted highlight of the disc…" BBC Music Five Stars
"… It's another lovely album of French music from Järvi and hugely enjoyable." The Gramophone
Tracks:
Thomas:
Overture to 'Raymond, ou Le Secret de la reine' (1851)
Auber:
Overture to 'Fra Diavolo, ou L'Hôtellerie de Terracine', S18 (1830)
Boieldieu:
Overture to 'Le Calife de Bagdad' (1800)
Overture to 'La Dame blanche' (1825)
Delibes:
Scène du bal and Vieille Chanson from 'Le Roi s'amuse' (1882)
Massenet:
Espada (1908)
