Ravel: Orchestral Works (Incls Ma Mère L'oye, Boléro & La Valse)

 
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MAURICE RAVEL
Ravel: Orchestral Works (Incls Ma Mère L'oye, Boléro & La Valse)
Sinfonia of London, John Wilson

[ Chandos SACD / Hybrid SACD ]

Release Date: Friday 28 January 2022

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Following their second BBC Music Magazine Award (for Respighi's Roman Trilogy) and universal praise for their first concert (at the BBC Proms in 2021), Sinfonia of London and John Wilson turn to the orchestral works of Ravel for this their sixth studio album. Not only an outstanding pianist and one of France's greatest composers, Maurice Ravel is acclaimed as one of the greatest orchestrators of all time. His unique ability to conjure the widest possible range of colours and textures from the orchestral palette is amply demonstrated on this album. The programme opens with La Valse, conceived as a snapshot of 1850s Vienna. The continuous sequence of waltzes becomes increasingly insistent until the sound is almost utterly overwhelming. Other ballets also feature - Ma Mère l'Oye (Mother Goose) and the notorious Boléro, both recorded here for the first time in their complete original versions. Ravel's orchestrations of his own piano works complete the programme: Valses nobles et sentimentales, Pavane pour une infante défunte, and Alborada del gracioso, which demonstrates both Ravel's fascination with Spanish sounds and culture and the sheer virtuosity of orchestral playing of Sinfonia of London. This album is recorded in surround-sound and released as a Hybrid SACD.

"this superbly played and sumptuously recorded disc from the Sinfonia of London and John Wilson amply demonstrates the profound benefits of trusting Ravel. Has Ma mère l'Oye ever sounded more gorgeous or affecting?...Throughout, innumerable exquisite details catch the ear." BBC Music

"Wilson's crack, handpicked orchestra responds to his refined, meticulous baton with playing of ravishing textural beauty, rhythmic elan and, in the repeated refrain of Boléro, cumulative power. An outstanding collection leaving the listener wanting more." Sunday Times

"What really shines here is the illumination of so many colouristic permutations, sounding for all the world as if Ravel had just in this moment heard them." Gramophone Editor's Choice March 2022

Tracks:

La Valse
Ma Mère l'Oye
Alborada del gracioso (orchestral version)
Pavane pour une infante défunte, M19a
Vales nobles et sentimentales, M61a
Boléro, M81

Sinfonia of London and John Wilson: Ravel, Orchestral Works