Nicola Porpora & Giovanni Battista Costanzi - 6 Cello Sonatas

"After having attended the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gest' Cristo, Nicola Porpora (1686-1768), one of the first teachers of singing of the Neapolitan school, debuted with Agrippina at the Palazzo Reale of Naples in 1708; from 1711 to 1725 he was Kapellmeister (maestro di cappella) of the Prince of Hessen-Darmstadt — who was temporarily in Naples with the Austrian army — and composed the operas 'Flavio Anicio Olibrio' (1711) and 'Basilio re d'oriente' (1713), then 'Arianna e Teseo' (1714) and 'Temistocle' (1718) for Vienna, the serenades 'Angelica' (1720) and 'Gli orti esperidi' (1721). From 1715 to 1721 he was teacher of singing and composition at Conservatorio di Sant'Onofrio in Naples. In Rome, 'Berenice regina d'Egitto' (1718) — composed by Porpora and Domenico Scarlatti, 'Eumene' (1721), 'Adelaide' (1723) and 'Didone Abbandonata' (1725) were performed. In Venice, he worked as a teacher in the Ospedale degli incurabili until 1733, when he accepted to move to London in order to lead an opera company (Opera of the Nobility) which debuted with 'Arianna in Nasso' (1733). After a short period spent between Venice and Naples, he moved to Dresda for 'Filandro' (1747), an opera composed for the birthday of Maria Antonia, princess of Baviera. His career was constantly vexed by a ruthless competition: on the Italian scenes his competitors were Leo and Vinci, Handel in London, Hasse in Dresda; the latter later achieved the role of Oberkapellmeister in the capital of Saxony, which forced Porpora to move to Vienna until 1758, when he moved back to Naples where he had a teaching post at Sant'Onofrio. Amongst his students, he had some of the most renowned evirati singers (emasculated singers), such as Caffarelli and Farinelli (later, in 1750, Porpora also became Haydn's teacher, who had previously been his assistant). 

 

"Surely, Porpora did not become famous because of his didactic production, but because of his vast catalogue of vocal music, both operatic and chamber music; however the reception of his solfeges — both in printed editions (in 1858, almost one hundred years after his death, Porpora's 'Elements of Singing' was released in London) and in direct adoption by several singers — makes him even more remarkable; moreover, he is considered a real founder of schools, in the same way as Chopin and Liszt were for piano during the Romanticism. 

 

"His mastery in vocal teaching also reflects on the not copious, but still refined instrumental production, whose roots are to be found in the influential style imposed by Arcangelo Corelli in Rome, where the latter would lead an orchestra composed by well-known cellists (for instance, Giovan Lorenzo Lulier, Giovanni Bononcini, Filippo Amadei), who might not be famous for the Sonatas or the Concertos, but they surely are for the Cantatas. 

 

"Giovanni Battista Costanzi (Rome 1704-1778), composer and cello virtuoso, made his technique available to the author, in order for the notation to be suitable for his instrument. Therefore, both Porpora's violin and cello are explicitly 'singers,' more strongly than they usually are in baroque music — where they are oriented to emulating the vox humana — due to the fact that in Porpora's operas they sing as celebrities of the theatre scene, not as models of an abstract voice. The part of the first cello is particularly peculiar to Chamber Symphonies and of Sonatas for two violins and two cellos. The agile and melodious virtuosity of the first cello is affected by Porpora's habit of listening to Neapolitan cellists, such as Giovanni Carlo Cailo, Rocco Greco and, most importantly, the young Francischello Alborea and Francesco Supriano (the latter created an innovative method which contains several varieties of musical figures used by Porpora). In order to further verify the relationship between voice and cello, it is useful to take into consideration an interesting case of Cantata by Porpora himself ('Or sl m'avveggio, oh Amore'), which contains a part for concertante cello that duets with the soprano and uses the same variety of musical figures as the Sonatas. 

 

"Listening to Porpora's Sonatas, rarely performed or even recorded, contributes to document the rich Neapolitan cellist scene which consists of not only the operas composed by the virtuous artists themselves, but also of the cantatas and serenades with one or two obbligati cellos and concertos for cello (both cases are operas by Leonardo Leo). This music, neglected for a long time, has the triple role of increasing the knowledge about authors who are usually mentioned only in cases of Opera Houses, completing the linguistic overview which aims at explaining the virtuous appearance of this instrument during the first half of the Eighteenth Century (previously present only in Vivaldi and Bach's operas, who also knew the Neapolitan music), and showing the basis on which the galante and the classic cellos (that of the renowned concertos of Franz Josef Haydn) are founded." (Carlo Fiore, tr. Giuseppe Leone. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Adriano Maria Fazio, Anna Camporini, Katarzyna Solecka, Pedro Alcacer, Lorenzo Profita

1. Sonata No. 1 In C Major: I. Amoroso

2. Sonata No. 1 In C Major: II. Allegro

3. Sonata No. 1 In C Major: III. Tempo Giusto

4. Sonata No. 1 In C Major: IV. Allegro

5. Sonata No. 2 In G Minor: I. Affettuoso

6. Sonata No. 2 In G Minor: II. Allegro

7. Sonata No. 2 In G Minor: III. Adagio

8. Sonata No. 2 In G Minor: IV. Allegro

9. Sonata No. 3 In G Major: I. Adagio

10. Sonata No. 3 In G Major: II. Allegro

11. Sonata No. 3 In G Major: III. Adagio Staccato

12. Sonata No. 3 In G Major: IV. Allegro

13. Sonata No. 4 In B Major: I. Adagio E Staccato

14. Sonata No. 4 In B Major: II. Allegro

15. Sonata No. 4 In B Major: III. Adagio

16. Sonata No. 4 In B Major: IV. Allegro Staccato

17. Sonata No. 5 In C Minor: I. Adagio

18. Sonata No. 5 In C Minor: II. Allegro

19. Sonata No. 5 In C Minor: III. Adagio

20. Sonata No. 5 In C Minor: IV. Allegro

21. Sonata No. 6 In G Major: I. Adagio

22. Sonata No. 6 In G Major: II. Allegro

23. Sonata No. 6 In G Major: III. Largo

24. Sonata No. 6 In G Major: IV. Allegro Staccato

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Marc-Aintoine Charpentier - Motets Pour la Semaine Sainte; Messe à Quatre Chœurs

"Marc-Antoine Charpentier was born in Paris in 1643. When he was barely twenty years old, for reasons unknown to us, he journeyed to Rome, where he was overpowered by the music he heard in the churches there: Renaissance polyphonies, masses and motets of all magnitudes in the new style, and, above all, the works of Giacomo Carissimi, which were sung in the oratory founded by Philip Neri. 'The sober brilliance of this music,' in the words of the musicologist Bukofzer, convinced him to study with the Roman master. Charpentier became familiar with all the genres of religious music: the sacred story—the name given to early oratorios—and its particular declamatory style, of which Carissimi was the great exponent, as well as traditional counterpoint, works for multiple choirs, and the concertante style, which emphasized instrumental music. Having refined his composition skills to perfection, he returned from Italy with a melodic suppleness, an expressive solicitude, and a freedom of invention unique among French musicians of the time. 

 

"During his stay in the Eternal City, Charpentier penetrated the mysteries of ultramontane music. Returning to Paris around 1670, he brought with him a short treatise in manuscript form, 'Remarques sur les messes a 16 parties d'Italie,' in which he lucidly analyzed the 'Missa Mirabiles elationes maris' for four choirs by Francesco Beretta. The musicians of Rome had brought to an unrivalled magnificence the writing for multiple choirs started by the Venetians of the previous century. Yet, with a critical eye, and being thoroughly imbued with Italian art, Charpentier was able to unravel the techniques of this genre of composition, which were not as complex as might seem at first glance. He first established that, to start with, 'the trick consists only in finding four different bass lines.' He then noted that, for example, if 'the forbidden intervals sound good with 16 voices, then for eight they are excusable, and for six, four, three, two, and one, they are intolerable.' He therefore concluded that it was 'easier to compose for 16 parts than for eight, because the liberties one takes with 16 don't sound as terrible as they would with 8'! 

 

"It was at this period that he composed his 'Messe a quatre choeurs, H. 4' (for 16 voices). This was perhaps sung as part of the ceremonies organized by the Theatins, starting on August 13, 1672, for the canonization of their founder, Gaetano of Thiene. Alternatively, it may have been sung for the feast of St. Francis Xavier, celebrated at the Jesuit novitiate on December 6 of the same year. Although he set the entire text of the mass to music, Charpentier indicated places where the organist should improvise passages, in order that—if we can believe the annotations in the author's manuscript—the singers would have time to twice change their positions with respect to the altar during the Kyrie, the second time to return to their initial positions. Aiming for the best sonority possible in the space, this work not only uses the opposition and the massive grouping of the choirs; it also exploits all the possible combinations of the four voices of each choir, such as when the four sopranos begin the Gloria by personifying the angels. The strings, in some places, double the voices—'the entire Kyrie with violins' or 'Gloria in Excelsis without violins.' Seeking to best render the sense of the text, the composer sustains our interest by contrasting the monumental force obtained through homophony with the intimacy of the sections given to soloists. According to Catherine Cessac, Charpentier 'appeared as a fantastic architect who possessed in the highest degree the sense of balance and proportion,' but yet 'this architectural aspect never stifled expression.'

"Several years after his return, the rupture occurred that put an end to the many years of fruitful collaboration between the two Jean-Baptistes, Molière and Lully. Molière, in 1672, then called upon Charpentier, which confirms that his musical reputation was already well established. The association did not last long, though: 'Le Malade imaginaire' appeared in 1673, and then the revival of 'La Comtesse d'Escarbagnas' and of 'Le Manage forcé' in 1674, the year of Molière's death. Nevertheless, Charpentier continued until around 1685 to compose for the French theatre, creating various theatrical pieces, overtures, dances, and vocal music. 'Médée,' his only musical tragedy, appeared in 1693; it shows to perfection his sense of drama, which was otherwise almost exclusively reserved for sacred music. 

 

"Charpentier worked for a time for the nobility, yet he never held a post in a royal institution. In 1679 he was hired as a musician by the Dauphin; the Mercure galant tells us that the king wanted to hear only his music while visiting his son at Saint-Cloud. In 1683, Louis XIV, who had just moved to Versailles with his Court, decided to reform the music of the Chapelle royale. A competition was held throughout all of France, but Charpentier, because of an unidentified illness, could not compete. This unhappy event in effect determined his career in Paris. Some feel that this was fortunate, since it meant that Charpentier's music did not have to be molded into the official, and often quite strict, liturgical functions. In fact, he was one of the few French composers of the time to write masses—at the Chapelle one heard only motets, usually written on the texts of the psalms with extremely varied compositional techniques and musical effects. 

 

"Somewhat previously, perhaps even upon his return from Italy, Charpentier moved into the Marais home of the Princesse de Guise. This noble lady maintained a small ensemble of voices and instruments, and the music that they performed was, according to the Mercure galant, 'so wonderful that that of several other monarchs cannot come close to it.' Until the death of the princess in 1688, Charpentier composed several small-scale masterpieces for this group, which were 'highly regarded by the most knowledgeable connoisseurs,' and in which he made a remarkable and very personal synthesis of French and Italian styles. 

 

"While he worked for the Princess, and probably after having quit the service of the Dauphin, Charpentier collaborated more and more frequently with the Jesuits of the rue Saint-Antoine and of the Church of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul. He had certainly known them since his stay in Italy. When creating works destined for the Jesuits, he knew that music had to be at the service of faith, like an 'ars persuandi,' counting on emotion and the pleasure of the senses to encourage the faithful to accept the mysteries of religion; Charpentier shared fully in this aesthetic scheme. 

 

"Charpentier's career reached its summit in 1698, at the moment when, on the recommendation of the Duc d'Orleans—the future Regent was studying composition with the musician—and probably of Madame de Maintenon, he was named director of music at the Sainte-Chapelle. Because it was dedicated to Saint Louis (Louis IX), this church, the second in importance in the kingdom after the Chapelle royale, was the only one in Paris reporting to the Court. The recommendations in his favour from nobility must have carried much weight, since this post could not be occupied by a layperson. In this way, the calm atmosphere of an almost monastic cell witnessed the heights of Charpentier's career. 

 

"During the six years that remained to him, Charpentier created the masterpieces of his prime, among which we find three grands motets written for the first nocturne of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (but presented on each their eve): In to 'Domine speravi, H. 228' on Psalm 71 (Vulg. 70), 'Dominus illuminatio mea, H. 229' on Psalm 27 (Vulg. 26), and 'Conserva me Domine, H. 230' on Psalm 16 (Vulg. 15). Based on the names of the singers that were noted on the manuscript, we know that these were sung in the spring of 1699—Holy Week celebrations must have been particularly sumptuous at the Saint-Chapelle—and these were the last works composed by Charpentier on the texts of the Psalms. Written for soloists, five-part choir this 'French' distribution was rare for Charpentier, being a monopoly of the Chapelle royale and orchestra, these three exceptional works 'demonstrate,' according to Jean Duron, 'the extraordinary sense of composition and of harmony that Charpentier continued to acquire throughout his life.' Each motet is in two or three sections, each of which begins with a different grouping of solo voices—the H. 229, by a short sinfonia and ends with a chorus. The length of Psalms 71 and 27 forced the composer to present the musical images suggested by the text in linkages without breaks or repetition, giving a density and an irresistible energy to the music. Psalm 16, being shorter, allowed the musician to further extend himself and to conclude the piece with a majestic choral tour de force. In sum, the notion of the ensemble, the profusion and diversity of ideas, the depth and concentration of intention, as well as the audacious harmonic exploration, make this triptych an essential milestone in the work of Charpentier. 

 

"Retired from the world, Charpentier died in the peace of his cell at the Sainte-Chapelle on February 24, 1 704, at the age of 60, known and appreciated by a small circle of connoisseurs. Five years later, his nephew Jacques Edouard published some of his motets 'mixed up with symphonies,' and in 1727 he bequeathed to the Bibliotheque royale the 28 manuscript volumes of the 'Melanges,' the works meticulously assembled by Charpentier himself throughout his life. This mindful task, which was exceptional for the period, allows us today to acknowledge the real worth of the most skilful, diversified, and expressive musician of seventeenth-century France." (François Filiatrault, tr. Sally Campbell. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Christopher Jackson

1. Grand Motet Sur Le Psaume 70 'In Te Domine Speravi', H. 228

2. Grand Motet Sur Le Psaume 26 'Dominus Illuminatio Mea', H. 229

3. Grand Motet Sur Le Psaume 15 'Conserva Me Domine', H. 230

4. Messe À Quatre Chœurs, H. 4: Kyrie

5. Messe À Quatre Chœurs, H. 4: Gloria

6. Messe À Quatre Chœurs, H. 4: Credo

7. Messe À Quatre Chœurs, H. 4: Sanctus

8. Messe À Quatre Chœurs, H. 4: Agnus Dei

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Marc-Antoine Charpentier - Médée

"Reporting on the premiere performances of 'Médée' at the Academie de la Musique (the Opéra) in Paris in December 1693, the monthly Mercure Galant enthused. Louis XIV had accepted the dedication to him of the work, though neither its composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier nor its librettist Thomas Corneille were in his service, and His Majesty had been heard to say of Charpentier that 'He was convinced that [Charpentier] was an able man, and He knew that there were very fine things in his opera.' Of ten performances, the Grand Dauphin had attended two, and Monsieur (the king's brother) four. Marthe Le Rochois, the most celebrated soprano of the era, had portrayed Medea 'with warmth, subtlety and intelligence.' In the libretto of Corneille (younger brother of the more celebrated Pierre), 'The emotions are so vivid in it that, even if the role [of Medea] were only to be spoken, it would not fail to make a great impression on the audience.' In sum, 'true connoisseurs found many admirable passages in the opera 'Médée.' 

 

"But not everyone agreed with the gossipy monthly's opinion — especially since the Mercure was exceptionally partial to Charpentier, its editor having collaborated several times with the composer (and with Corneille, too). A more impartial report, if much later, would seem to be that of Sebastien de Brossard, composer and erudite music scholar; writing in 1724, Brossard said: "[The opera 'Médée'] is unquestionably the most expert and exquisite of all that have been published, at least since the death of M. de Lully; and although thanks to cabals of the envious and ignorant it was not received by the public as well as it deserved, or even as well as many others, it is this one, more than all other operas without exception, from which may be learned the essentials of good composition.' 

 

"Note the qualification: '...at least since the death of M. de Lully.' Jean-Baptiste Lully, born in Florence in 1632 but at the French royal court from 1646, and at the time of his death in 1687 effectively composer-laureate of the realm, was still being considered — thirty-seven years later, and by an unprejudiced and learned musician — the unparalleled musical dramatist of France. This suggests who were behind the 'cabals of the envious and ignorant' that doomed Charpentier's 'Médée': Lullistes, faithful to the memory of the late Superintendent of the King's Music, who had virtually invented French opera with a series of annual 'tragédies en musique' beginning with 'Cadmus et Hermione' (1673) and culminating with 'Armide' (1686). For such Lullistes, Charpentier — who had been shaped as a composer in Rome under Giacomo Carissimi — was the enemy: not a composer of 'pure' French music but one who had been seduced by the 'excesses' of Italian Baroque music. And 'Médée' was indeed doomed, at least for almost three hundred years. Charpentier's score was printed in 1694 under royal privilege, and the opera made an abortive appearance in Lille in 1700 (a fire destroyed the decors and the opera's run had to be cancelled). But then it was forgotten and never heard integrally again until 1984 — in a Robert Wilson/Michel Corboz production at the Opera de Lyon and in a different version recorded by Les Arts Florissants under William Christie, which was revised and given a triumphant stage production in 1993-94, giving rise to the present recording. And now that we are able to take the full measure of the work, it is generally agreed that Med& is Charpentier's consummate masterpiece. 

 

"Ironically, 'Médée' is very much a Lullian opera —in its external form (prologue and five acts); its subject matter (classical myth); its literary style (poetic throughout, and versified mostly in couplets and quatrains of alexandrines); its precise declamation and text-dominated vocalism (as opposed to the Italians' music-dominated, aria-filled 'concerts in costume'; its exotic and fantastic divertissements rich in song-and-dance delights (one in every act but the last); its substantial choruses; its double orchestra (a full grand chœur — with strings in five parts, winds, trumpets, and percussion — aerated often with a petit chœur of solo instruments in three parts) and of course an accompanimental basse continue of semi-improvising harpsichords, lutes, and bowed and blown bass instruments. Having said that in 'Médée' Charpentier and Corneille accepted the Lullian mould of the tragédie lyrique, one must immediately insist on the ways they broke the mould. First of all, Charpentier filled the opera with some of his most magnificent music, sustaining the inspiration throughout a very long work. The elements of his personal style shine all through it: a unique synthesis of lyrical, warmly Italianate vocalism and precise French declamation; a rich harmonic palette abounding in poignant chromaticism and evocative dissonances; a unique vocal arioso for the solo recits; a flair for unusual orchestral colors; and a magisterial command of instrumental and choral polyphony. 

 

"One is perhaps struck most by the sheer theatricality of 'Médée' and its powerful evocation of diverse characters and the complete range of their emotions. As the French scholar Catherine Massip has emphasized, this is 'an opera whose subtlety and complexity are found as much in its dramatic texture as in Charpentier's response to the libretto.' Like virtually every earlier playwright reworking the legend of Jason and Medea, Thomas Corneille had his own slant on it. Unlike the versions of Euripides, Seneca, and even his older brother, Corneille begins his account with the first days in Corinth of Medea and Jason (Medea having fled her own country with Jason after he acquired the Golden Fleece, and having borne his children) and with Jason's infatuation with the Corinthian princess Creusa, daughter of King Creon. Corneille portrays Jason as a weak-willed anti-hero — irresolute, impressionable, and opportunistic — while his Medea is a complex character —aware of her supernatural powers; jealous but proud; wanting acceptance as a desirable woman rather than rejection as a rank outsider, as a loving mother rather than a sorceress; and resistant to believing the worst about the man she loves, though, when she does, resolving, 'Et que le crime nous separe/Comme le crime nous a joints' ('And may murder separate us/Just as murder has united us.') 

 

"At the moment of that resolution (Act III, scene 4), Corneille and Charpentier climactically invoke sorcery and black magic. Understandably: the 1680s had been full of them, at court and in Paris. The scandals of the 'Affaire of the Poisons,' which led to many trials and tortures, convictions and deaths, and in which even the king's longtime mistress, Madame de Montespan, had been implicated, was on everyone's lips. So, of course: sorcery in 'Médée.' But, as Jean-Marie Villegier, director of the production of Les Arts Florissants, has written, one of the opera's main subtexts is that 'Even if woman is a sorceress, this sorceress is a woman.' 

 

"Charpentier brings to Corneille's libretto an extraordinary sensitivity to dramatic nuance, his music powerfully conveying human passions and affects. The Prologue leaves little room for such characterization: it is antiseptically allegorical, all about the peaceable reign (!) of Louis XIV. (Such a prologue, on such a theme, was obligatory under the Sun King.) Pleasant vocal trios are echoed in choruses punctuated by bright orchestral ritournelles. Toward the end, a chain of cheerful dances - loure, canaries, menuet, passepied - confirms a message of peaceful pleasures: 'Le bruit des tambours, des trompettes / Ne viendra point troubler nos jeux.' ('The noise of drums and trumpets/Shall no more disturb our games.') 

 

"In Act I, Charpentier swiftly plunges us deep into Medea's passionate, proud, fierce character. Her big récit 'S 'il me vole son cœur, si la princesse y règne,/De plus grands efforts feront voir/Ce qu'est Médée et son pouvoir' (If his heart has been stolen, if the Princess holds sway there,/Greater efforts will reveal/Who Medea is, and what are her powers') has a unique accompaniment, pulsing with barely contained power; and the récit, which establishes the main theme of the drama, is framed with angry, rushing passagework for the strings. In the divertissement that concludes the act, Charpentier is careful to distinguish the four-part Chorus of Corinthians (initially offstage, a nice coup de theatre and a great novelty) from the three-part Chorus of Argians. In Act II, we meet Medea as mother, and her softer side is deftly suggested, especially in the accompaniment, for soft strings and two gentle flutes, of her récit 'Princesse, c'est sur vous que mon espoir se fonde' ('Princess, 'tis upon you that my hopes are founded.') This act also closes with a divertissement, a fantasy in which the nubile Creusa is addressed by Cupid and 'Captifs d'amour de plusieurs nations' ('Slaves of Love from several nations') (including Italy, of course, as an excuse for a distinctly Italianate air, to an Italian text); the concluding 'Passecaille en rondeau' finds the chorus alternating with a vocal trio, representing 'Three Slaves of Love,' that is enchantingly reminiscent of sixteenth-century chanson style. The dramatic tension deepens and intensifies in Act III. Medea has several powerful monologues, each differentiated sonorously and rhythmically. The first 'Quel prix de mon amour?' ('Such is the price of love') is rounded off with a return to the opening lines of text, but with subtle reshaping of their music. The second 'C'en est fait, on m'y force' ('But it's all over, I'm forced to it') displays the angry Medea, competing once again with rushing strings. Her resolution to turn to malignant sorcery is forcefully projected in both 'Noires filles du Styx' ('Black daughters of the Styx'), with a string accompaniment kept low and dark, and 'Dieu du Cocyte et des royaumes sombres' ('God of Cocytus and of the dark kingdoms,') even more darkly scored. These two récits are integrated into a divertissement that introduces fantastic creatures — snarling Vengeance and Jealousy, and a crowd of Demons. 

 

"Act IV begins with a delicately chromatic prelude for two flutes, two violins, and continuo: our first view of Creusa clad in the deceptively beautiful poisoned robe given her by Medea 'Jamais on ne la vit si belle' ('Never has she looked so beautiful.') Charpentier composes a stunning love scene for Creusa and Jason beginning with lyrical solos for each, out of the 'air de cour' tradition; the dialogue ends with a brief, wistful duet. Later in the act Creon and Medea have their final confrontation. Creon calls on his guards to seize her. Medea magically causes the guards to reject their king, then calls up a horde of phantoms to immobilize them — which they do in an utterly eerie divertissement. (Charpentier suggests the insubstantial phantoms with a mysterious, bassless chorus.) Creon finishes the act with a desperate récit 'Noires divinites, que voulez-vous de moi?' ('Black Divinities, what do you want of me?'). For Creon's drift into madness, Charpentier takes a cue from the line 'Tout s'abime, la terre s'ouvre!' ('There is an abyss, the earth opens up') and omits the treble instruments, divides the basses into two parts, and creates a dense, dark, literally abysmal accompaniment. An intermède leading to Act V is based appropriately on Medea's ferocious 'anger music,' which has by now become a leitmotif.

 

"Act V is highlighted by the Corinthians' choral lament on the death of Creon (evoking the memory of Lully's celebrated choral lament, 'Alceste est morte!') ('Alceste is dead!'); by the almost unbearably poignant scene of Creusa in torment in the poisoned robe; and by her death, postponed just long enough to permit an extraordinarily moving, bittersweet love-death duet for her and Jason 'Hélas! prets d'être unis par les plus douces chaines' ('Alas! Ready as we are to be united in the sweetest bonds'); and finally by Medea's ferocious adieu to Jason — introduced and followed, as by now we almost expect, by orchestral ritournelles in Medea's 'angry' style. That is the last sound we hear." (H. Wiley Hitchcock. From the liner notes.)

Performers: Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, Lorraine Hunt, Mark Padmore, Bernard Deletré, Monique Zanetti, Jean-Marc Salzmann

1.1. Prologue: Ouverture

1.2. Prologue: 'Louis Est Triomphant'

1.3. Prologue: 'Paroissez, Charmante Victoire'

1.4. Prologue: 'Le Ciel Dans Nos Vœux S'intéresse'

1.5. Prologue: Loure

1.6. Prologue: 'Dans Le Bel Âge, Si L'on N'est Volage'

1.7. Prologue: Passepied

1.8. Prologue: Ouverture (Reprise)

1.9. Acte I, Scène I: 'Pour Flatter Mes Ennemis'

1.10. Acte I, Scène I: 'Qu'il Le Cherche, Mais Qu'il Me Craigne'

1.11. Acte I, Scène II: 'D'où Vous Vient Cet Air Sombre?'

1.12. Acte I, Scène III: 'Que Je Serois Heureux, Si J'étais Moins Aimé'

1.13. Acte I, Scène III: 'Que Me Peut Demander La Gloire'

1.14. Acte I, Scène IV: 'L'Allégresse En Ces Lieux'

1.15. Acte I, Scène V: 'Seigneur, La Thessalie Attaquant Vos Estats'

1.16. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Courez Aux Champs De Mars'

1.17. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Que D'épais Bataillons, Sur Nos Rêves Descendent'

1.18. Acte I, Scène VI: Rondeau Des Corinthiens

1.19. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Quel Bonheur Suit La Tendresse'

1.20. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Que D'épais' (Reprise)

1.21. Acte I, Scène VI: Entr'acte

 

2.1. Acte II, Scène I: 'Il Est Temps De Parler'

2.2. Acte II, Scène I: 'Vos Reproches, Seigneur, Ne Sont Pas Légitimes'

2.3. Acte II, Scène II: 'Princesse, C'est Sur Vous Que Mon Espoir Est Permis'

2.4. Acte II, Scène III: 'Enfin À Ton Amour Tout Espoir Est Permis'

2.5. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Prince, Venez Apprendre Une Heureuse Nouvelle'

2.6. Acte II, Scène V: 'Qu'ay-je À Résoudre Encor?'

2.7. Acte II, Scène V: 'Quand Son Amour Seroit Extrême'

2.8. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Puisqu'un Fier Ennemy'

2.9. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Quelle Est Charmante'

2.10. Acte II, Scène VII: Chaconne

2.11. Acte II, Scène VII: Passacaille

2.12. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Vous Voyez À Quoi J'aspire'

2.13. Acte III, Scène I: 'L'orage Est Violent'

2.14. Acte III, Scène I: 'Souffrirez Vous Qu'on Vous Enlève'

2.15. Acte III, Scène II: 'Vous Savez L'exil Qu'on M'ordonne'

2.16. Acte III, Scène III: 'Quel Prix De Mon Amour'

2.17. Acte III, Scène IV: 'Croiras-tu Mon Malheur?'

2.18. Acte III, Scène V: 'Noires Filles Du Stix'

2.19. Acte III, Scène VI: 'L'Enfer Obéit À Ta Voix'

2.20. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Je Vois Le Don Fatal'

2.21. Acte III, Scène VII: Premier Air Pour Les Démons

2.22. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Dieu Du Cocyte & Des Royaumes Sombres'

2.23. Acte III, Scène VII: Seconde Entrée Des Démons

 

3.1. Acte IV, Scène I: 'Jamais On Ne La Vit Si Belle'

3.2. Acte IV, Scène II: 'Ah! Que D'attraits'

3.3. Acte IV, Scène III: 'Si-tost Que Je Parois'

3.4. Acte IV, Scène IV: 'Vos Soupçons Estoient Vrais'

3.5. Acte IV, Scène V: 'D'où Me Vient Cette Horreur?'

3.6. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'Objets Agréables'

3.7. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'Vos Adieux Sont-ils Faits?'

3.8. Acte IV, Scène VII: Premier Air Des Phantômes

3.9. Acte IV, Scène VII: Phantômes Et Gardes

3.10. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Tout Resent Le Pouvoir'

3.11. Acte IV, Scène VIII: 'Mon Pouvoir S'est Connu'

3.12. Acte IV, Scène IX: 'Noires Divinités'

3.13. Acte V, Scène I: 'On Ne Peut Sans Effroy'

3.14. Acte V, Scène I: 'Ne Les Épargnons Pas'

3.15. Acte V, Scène II: 'Si La Pitié Vous Peut Trouver Sensible'

3.16. Acte V, Scène III: 'Venez, Parlez'

3.17. Acte V, Scène III: Air Funeste (Reprise)

3.18. Acte V, Scène IV: 'Eh Bien, Barbare'

3.19. Acte V, Scène V: 'Quel Feu Dans Me Veines S'allume'

3.20. Acte V, Scène VI: 'Ah, Roy Trop Malheureux'

3.21. Acte V, Scène VII: 'Elle Est Morte, Et Je Vis!'

3.22. Acte V, Scène VIII: 'C'est Peu, Pour Contenter La Douleur'

 

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Jean-Baptiste Lully - Isis

"'Isis' - following 'Cadmus et Hermione' (1673), 'Alceste' (1674), 'Thésée' (1675) and 'Atys' (1676) - was the fifth 'tragedie en musique' resulting from the collaboration between Jean-Baptiste Lully and his librettist Philippe Quinault. The opera was premiered on Tuesday 5 January 1677 at the chateau vieux of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which was then the only royal residence with a theatre suitable for opera performances. In December 1669, at the request of Louis XIV, the architect Carlo Vigarani had transformed the original ballroom, built in the sixteenth century under Francois I, into a theatre, complete with stage machinery capable of elevating performers and shifting sets, and accommodating some six hundred and fifty spectators. 

 

"Like 'Thésée' and 'Atys,' also premiered at Saint-Ger-main-en-Laye, 'Isis' was sung by artists from Lully's Academie Royale de Musique (also known as the Opera) and from the Musique du Roi. The two basse-contre parts were taken by Jean Gaye of the Chambre du Roi (Hierax) and Francois Beaumavielhe of the Opera (Jupiter). Lully gave the title role to Marie Aubry, the first soprano in his troupe, who the previous year had created the role of Sangaride in 'Atys.' As for the jealous goddess Juno, who persecutes the poor nymph Io, her part was taken by the great Mademoiselle de Saint-Christophle of the Opera, who specialised in the roles of goddesses and enchantresses, and had created that of Cybele in Atys. A hundred musicians, members of the Grande Ecurie, the Chambre du Roi and the Opera, formed an impressive orchestra composed of the finest instrumentalists in the realm. Some of them played on stage, including several trumpeters from the Grande Ecurie accompanying Fame (La Renommée) and her attendants in the prologue, and four members of the famous Hotteterre family (Louis, Jean, Nicolas and Jeannot) playing the flute in the Act III divertissement telling the story of Pan and Syrinx. 

"Louis XIV had begun to take a very keen interest in opera performances in 1675 when, at the age of thirty-seven, he retired from dancing in public. After Thesée, many other works by Quinault and Lully were first presented at court during the Carnival period, then staged in Paris at the Opera: 'Atys' (1676), 'Isis' (1677), 'Proserpine' (1680), 'Le Triomphe de l'Amour' (1681), 'Phaeton' (1683), 'Roland' (1684). 

"Rehearsals, covering a period of almost two months, board and lodging for all the artists (accommodated by locals), the making of the sets and costumes, designed respectively by Carlo Vigarani and Jean Berain: everything was paid for by the royal treasury, with no expense spared. The aim was to dazzle all present - especially foreign ambassadors, but also the courtiers and the Parisians who were allowed to attend certain performances - and to show off the opulence and splendour of the court of the Sun King, while at the same time asserting the power of France. Rehearsals of 'Isis' began at Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 19 November 1676. On 23 December, with preparations in full swing, Quinault read the prologue to the Academie Francaise, and was complimented on the beauty of his writing, which raised hopes for the great success of the work. Quinault was inspired for his libretto by the story of Io as related in the first book of Ovid's Metamorphoses. For understandable reasons, he omitted Io's transformation into a white heifer, but took up the episode in which Jupiter hides the nymph in a cloud in order to escape his wife's jealous eye. The encomiastic prologue, to the glory of Louis XIV, alludes to the French naval victory of 1676 over the Dutch and the Spanish in the Franco-Dutch War 'Mon empire a servi de théâtre a la guerre,' sings Neptune. 

"Eyewitnesses of the first performance found Jean Berain's costumes admirable, and the ballets choreographed by Pierre Beauchamp and François-Hilaire d'Olivet also received much applause. The reception of the opera was nevertheless mitigated. Quinault was criticised for producing a libretto that was considered below his normal standard, without any real dramatic action, and some critics found Lully's music too 'savant.' Apparently Louis was dissatisfied with a work for which he himself had chosen the subject, and Madame de Montespan, the king's mistress for the past ten years, attended only a few performances: she disliked the opera, finding its subject improper. Despite its relative lack of success, however, 'Isis' continued to be performed at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, alternately with 'Thesée,' until the end of February 1677.

"Little did Louis realise, when he approved the libretto, that during the summer of 1677 the court would identify the jealous and irascible goddess Juno with Madame de Montespan, and the character of Io with the young Marie-Elisabeth de Ludres, one of the royal mistress's fines d'honneur, with whom the king had become infatuated. Madame de Sevigne was among those who described the events of June-July 1677 (shortly before the work was taken to Paris) through the characters of 'Isis.' Quinault was accused of deliberately making fun of La Montespan; as a result he had to suffer two years of disgrace, during which time he wrote no more librettos for Lully: Thomas Corneille was to provide the texts for 'Psyché' (1678) and 'Bellerophon' (1679). Jean-Francois Lalouette, Lully's assistant, also got into trouble for having reportedly boasted that he was the author of some of the best parts of 'Isis': Lully dismissed him and appointed the composer Pascal Collasse to take his place. 

"Its lack of success at court meant that 'Isis' was not given in Paris as soon as the Opera reopened after Easter, as was customary; instead Lully revived 'Thesée.' Parisians did not have a chance to see the work until August 1677, when it was performed with the same costumes and sets at the theatre of the Academie Royale de Musique in the Palais-Royal, and with a change in the cast: Francois Baumavielhe, who had sung the role of Jupiter at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, took over the part of Hierax, previously sung by Jean Gaye, thus performing two roles. The work ran continuously until March 1678, when 'Psyché' was taken up again. Meanwhile, printed copies of the work had a wide distribution: 'Isis' was Lully's first printed score: part-books, running to at least six editions in 1677, were sold at performances (The full score was not published until 1719). During the composer's lifetime the work was also given in Amsterdam (25 November-30 December 1677, and 3 February 1678) and Regensburg (1683), and sometime around 1686 excerpts from the opera were presented in Ansbach.

 
"There were only three known revivals of 'Isis' at the Paris Opera in the eighteenth century (1704, 1717-18 and 1732-33). The last revival during the remaining years of the Sun King's reign took place on 14 February 1704. The 1717 revival was a great success: the cast was outstanding and particular care had been taken over the costumes and sets. Isis remained on the bill for five months, from 14 September 1717 to 9 January 1718, and gave rise to a parody by Jacques Charpentier, 'La Vache Io ou Les Amours de Jupiter et d'Io,' presented at the Foire Saint-Laurent that same year, 1718. The last Paris revival, from 14 December 1732, received much applause for its first-rate cast and its fine ballets choreographed by Michel Blondy, but the work as a whole was not very successful and it was taken off on the following 25 January. Despite such a short run, this last revival gave rise to two more parodies, both by Louis Fuzelier: 'La Jalousie avec sujet' (1732, not performed), and 'À Fourbe, fourbe a demi ou Le Trompeur trompé' (Foire Saint-Germain, 1733). On 16 and 21 March 1733 'Isis,' including Jean-Fery Rebel's 'Fantaisie,' was given 'pour la capitation des Acteurs.' After that 'Isis' left the repertoire of the Paris Opera. In the provinces, it was given in Lyon in 1698, Marseille in March 1701, and Dijon in 1729. Excerpts from the first three acts were given in Strasbourg in 1732.

"'Isis' stands apart among Quinault and Lully's operas. Doubtless because the chosen subject, the myth of Io, with its limited plot, provided the authors with few dramatic possibilities, they chose to give a large role to divertissements, episodes providing opportunities for spectacle and dance. As he had done previously in 'La Comédie sans comédie' of 1654, Quinault introduced in Act III a play within a play - or rather a mini-opera within an opera - when the story of Pan and Syrinx is enacted to put Argus to sleep: one of the finest passages in the work. Quinault also had Io transported for her sufferings to different climes, in response to the requirement of varietas, thereby giving the composer, choreographer and stage designer fine opportunities to show their skills, but not permitting a tightening of the plot. The strong presence of very carefully scored orchestral pieces and airs accompagnes, together with the many divertissements, led the work to become known as 'l'opera des musiciens' (Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de La Vieville, 'Comparaison de Ia musique italienne et de Ia musique françoise, Volume I,' 1704).

 
"Lully's sensibility and artistry are displayed to the full in many beautiful musical passages. Let us mention, for example, the descent of Apollo and the muses in the second scene of the prologue, with a prelude in G minor alternating orchestral tutti with a trio of flutes and violins: a piece showing great refinement in its writing and in the use of modulation. Then there is the announcement of the arrival of Jupiter, 'Échos retentissez dans ces lieux pleins d'appas' (Act I, Sc. 5), with its echo effects. And Pan's lament after the death of Syrinx, 'Hélas! quel bruit! qu'entends-je? Ah, quelle voix nouvelle!' (Act III, Sc. 6), with a basso continuo descending the twelve tones of the chromatic scale and an accompaniment of flutes symbolising Syrinx reincarnated as the reeds blowing and lamenting in the wind - a passage regarded at the time as Lully's masterpiece. But it is the fourth act that presents the greatest concentration of remarkable sequences. The first scene includes the famous chorus 'L'hiver qui nous tourmente,' sung by the people of the frozen regions, preceded by an instrumental entrée, each note of which has to be 'tremblée' in imitation of their shivering. This chorus, widely admired, inspired Purcell's 'Chorus of the Cold People' in Act III of 'King Arthur' (1691). In Scene 3, the Chalybes, famed as forgers of steel, make effective use of onomatopoeia ('Tot, tot, tot') as they strike the red-hot metal on their anvils. The chorus 'Exécutons l'arrêt du sort,' sung by the followers of the Fates in Scene 5, is punctuated by interventions from coryphdes representing War, Famine, Fire, Flood and Violent and Languishing Illnesses; the composer treats this passage with much humour. The act ends with the trio 'Le fil de la vie,' sung by the Fates (Les Parques): vertical writing is animated by brief vocalisations on the word 'tourne' (the image of the Fates spinning the thread of life); this piece was greatly admired for its skilful composition, and Lully was particularly proud of it. It probably inspired Rameau for the scene with the Furies at the end of Act II of 'Hippolyte et Aricie' (1733). (Pascal Denécheau. From the liner notes.)

 

Performers: Les Talens Lyriques, Chœur de Chambre de Namur, Christophe Rousset, Ève-Maud Hubeaux, Cyril Auvity, Edwin Crossley-Merger, Philippe Estèphe, Ambroisine Bré, Bénédicte Tauran, Fabien Hyon, Aimery Lefévre

1.1. Ouverture

1.2. Prologue, Scène I: 'Publions En Tous Lieux'

1.3. Prologue, Scène I: 'C'est Lui Dont Les Dieux Ont Fait Choix'

1.4. Prologue, Scène II: Premier Air Des Tritons

1.5. Prologue, Scène II: 'C'est Le Dieu Des Eaux Qui Va Paraître'

1.6. Prologue, Scène II: Deuxième Air Des Tritons

1.7. Prologue, Scène II: 'Mon Empire A Servi De Théâtre À La Guerre'

1.8. Prologue, Scène II: 'Célébrons Son Grand Nom Sur La Terre Et Sur L'onde'

1.9. Prologue, Scène III: Prélude Des Muses

1.10. Prologue, Scène III: 'Cessez Pour Quelque Temps, Bruit Terrible Des Armes'

1.11. Prologue, Scène III: Premier Air Pour Les Muses

1.12. Prologue, Scène III: Deuxième Air Pour Les Muses

1.13. Prologue, Scène III: 'Ne Parlez Pas Toujours De La Guerre Cruelle'

1.14. Prologue, Scène III: 'Ne Parlons Pas Toujours De La Guerre Cruelle'

1.15. Prologue, Scène III: Air Pour Les Trompettes

1.16. Prologue, Scène III: 'Hâtez-vous, Plaisirs, Hâtez-vous'

1.17. Prologue: Ouverture

1.18. Acte I, Scène I: Ritournelle

1.19. Acte I, Scène I: 'Cessons D'aimer Une Infidèle'

1.20. Acte I, Scène II: 'C'est Trop Entretenir Ces Tristes Rêveries'

1.21. Acte I, Scène III: 'M'aimez-vous? Puis-je M'en Flatter?'

1.22. Acte I, Scène IV: 'Ce Prince Trop Longtemps Dans Ses Chagrins S'obstine'

1.23. Acte I, Scène V: 'Le Dieu Puissant Qui Lance Le Tonnerre'

1.24. Acte I, Scène V: 'Échos, Retentissez Dans Ces Lieux Pleins D'appas'

1.25. Acte I, Scène V: 'C'est Ainsi Que Mercure'

1.26. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Que La Terre Partage'

1.27. Acte I, Scène VI: Premier Air Pour L'entrée Des Divinités De La Terre

1.28. Acte I, Scène VI: Deuxième Air

1.29. Acte I, Scène VI: 'Les Armes Que Je Tiens Protègent L'innocence'

1.30. Acte I: Entracte

1.31. Acte II, Scène I: Ritournelle

1.32. Acte II, Scène I: 'Où Suis-je, D'où Vient Ce Nuage?'

1.33. Acte II, Scène II: 'Vous Voyez Jupiter, Que Rien Ne Vous Étonne'

1.34. Acte II, Scène III: 'Iris Est Ici-bas Et Junon Elle-même'

1.35. Acte II, Scène IV: 'Arrêtez, Belle Iris, Différez Un Moment'

1.36. Acte II, Scène V: Prélude

1.37. Acte II, Scène V: 'J'ai Cherché Vainement La Fille D'Inachus'

1.38. Acte II, Scène VI: 'Dans Les Jardins D'Hébé Vous Deviez En Ce Jour'

1.39. Acte II, Scène VII: Entrée Pour La Jeunesse

1.40. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Les Plaisirs Les Plus Doux'

1.41. Acte II, Scène VII: Premier Air

1.42. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Aimez, Profitez Du Temps'

2.1. Acte II, Scène VII: Deuxième Air

2.2. Acte II, Scène VII: 'Que Ces Lieux Ont D'attraits'

2.3. Acte II, Scène VIII: 'Servez, Nymphe, Servez, Avec Un Soin Fidèle'

2.4. Acte II, Scène VIII: 'Que C'est Un Plaisir Charmant'

2.5. Acte III, Scène I: Ritournelle

2.6. Acte III, Scène I: 'Dans Ce Solitaire Séjour'

2.7. Acte III, Scène II: 'La Perfide Craint Ma Présence'

2.8. Acte III, Scène III: 'Liberté, Liberté!'

2.9. Acte III, Scène IV: 'De La Nymphe Syrinx, Pan Chérit La Mémoire'

2.10. Acte III, Scène V: 'Liberté, Liberté'

2.11. Acte III, Scène VI: Air Des Sylvains Et Des Satyres

2.12. Acte III, Scène VI: Marche Des Bergers Et Satyres

2.13. Acte III, Scène VI: Deuxième Air

2.14. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Quel Bien Devez-vous Attendre'

2.15. Acte III, Scène VI: Troisième Air

2.16. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Je Vous Aime, Nymphe Charmante'

2.17. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Aimons Sans Cesse'

2.18. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Faut-il Qu'en Vains Discours Un Si Beau Jour Se Passe?'

2.19. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Je Ne Puis Vous Quitter, Mon Coeur S'attache À Vous'

2.20. Acte III, Scène VI: 'Hélas! Quel Bruit! Qu'entends-je?'

2.21. Acte III, Scène VII: 'Reconnaissez Mercure Et Fuyez Avec Nous'

2.22. Acte III, Scène VIII: 'Revois Le Jour, Argus, Que Ta Figure Change!'

2.23. Acte III: Entracte

2.24. Acte IV, Scène I: Entrée Des Peuples Des Climats Glacés

2.25. Acte IV, Scène I: 'L'hiver Qui Nous Tourmente'

2.26. Acte IV, Scène II: 'Laissez-moi, Cruelle Furie'

2.27. Acte IV, Scène III: 'Tôt, Tôt, Tôt...'

2.28. Acte IV, Scène III: Entrée Des Forgerons

2.29. Acte IV, Scène IV: 'Quel Déluge De Feux Qui Sortent Des Forges'

2.30. Acte IV, Scène V: 'Exécutons L'arrêt Du Sort'

2.31. Acte IV, Scène VI: Premier Air Des Parques

2.32. Acte IV, Scène VI: Deuxième Air Des Parques

2.33. Acte IV, Scène VI: 'C'est Contre Moi Qu'il Faut Tourner'

2.34. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Le Fil De La Vie'

2.35. Acte IV, Scène VII: 'Tranchez Mon Triste Sort D'un Coup Qui Me Délivre'

2.36. Acte IV: Entracte

2.37. Acte V, Scène I: Ritournelle

2.38. Acte V, Scène I: 'Terminez Mes Tourments, Puissant Maître Du Monde'

2.39. Acte V, Scène II: Prélude

2.40. Acte V, Scène II: 'Il Ne M'est Pas Permis De Finir Votre Peine'

2.41. Acte V, Scène III: 'Venez, Déesse Impitoyable'

2.42. Acte V, Scène III: 'Venez, Divinité Nouvelle!'

2.43. Acte V, Scène III: Premier Air Pour Les Égyptiens

2.44. Acte V, Scène III: Deuxième Air Pour Les Égyptiens

2.45. Acte V, Scène III: 'Isis Est Immortelle'

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Vincenzo Bellini - La Sonnambula

"In several respects 'La Sonnambula' is one of the more surprising operas to find in Callas's repertoire. Her stage presence, for one thing, had normally a grandeur about it and, by 1955 when she first sang the part, a sophisticated elegance, both foreign to the simple village girl she plays here. Vocally, Amina is associated with light, pretty voices of the Galli-Curci or Toti dal Monte type and neither of those delightful singers could easily be thought of in Callas's great role of Norma, any more than her predecessors in that role, such as Rosa Ponselle or Gina Cigna, could very well be billed as Amina. It is true that Bellini wrote both roles for the same singer, Giuditta Pasta, and in the same year too; true also that most of the leading nineteenth-century sopranos sang both parts without seeming to court disaster. Still, in Callas's time it was a daring step to take, and among her admirers there must have been many who echoed the prayer of the villagers as Amina crosses the water-mill bridge: 'Bonta divrna, guida l'orrante pie!' 

 

"If so, their prayer was answered. 'The Sonnambula' at La Scala was a resounding success in 1955 and the triumph was repeated at its revival in 1957, the year of this recording. 'Callas mirabile Sonnambula,' 'nccoglienza trionfali,' pubblico in delirio,' ('Callas a wonderful Sonnambula,' 'a triumphal reception,' 'the audience in ectasy') ran the headlines. Writing in the magazine Opera, Claudio Sartori described her as having 'created a personality composed of nuances and half tones, persuasive and of the utmost delicacy'. He also admired Visconti's production, which 'succeeded in conjuring up a dreamlike atmosphere surrounding the graceful story, still set in a fourteenth-century Arcadian background.' The same critic credited the tenor Nicola Monti with 'a most charming voice, well-controlled if not of great volume, but true and penetrating, agile and responsive,' while 'interpretations of the highest order warn given by Zaccaria (Rodolfo) and Eugenia Ratti (Lisa), both most ably supported by the experienced in action of Antonino Votto.' All, then, was set fair for the recording which started the day after the first performance and ended one day before the third. 

 

"During rehearsals for the new production in 1955 Callas had queried Visconti's idea that she should wear her jewellery. She objected that she was a village girl and that it would be out of character. His reply as recorded in Adrienne Stassinopoulos's biography of Callas ran as follows: 'No, you are not a village girl. You are Maria Callas playing a village girl and don't forget that'. Perhaps there is some wisdom here that one fails to grasp, but certainly as far as the recording is concerned a marvellous feature of it is the absence of any suggestion that she is 'Maria Callas playing a village girl'. At the start she establishes the voice which she hears in her mind's ear as the girl's, and from then onwards everything is in proportion. When misfortune strikes, Amina does not suddenly become Tosca or Norma or simply Maria Callas. The voice continues, as it were, to 'think upwards' and she is still young and inexperienced in soul. It was part of Callas's achievement to provide the Scala. where they probably knew the opera as well as, if not better than, any other audience in the world, with a revelation: as one of the critics put it, the girl was endowed not just with movement and,a voice, but with a soul of her own. 

 

"No doubt the degree of depth and the power to communicate it were made possible by the fact that she was 'Maria Callas playing a village girl.' The point is well put by John Ardoin in his study of Callas's recordings, 'The Callas Legend,' where he writes: Only when one hears Amina in a voice which endows Norma with its proper humane dimensions is one aware of the depth to be found in Sonnambula.' The remarkable thing, though, is that when the afflicted girl cries out 'Ah! me infelice. Che feci io mai? Oh mio dolore,' it is still in the voice of Amina; grief which would seem vocally lightweight if sung in that way by Norma at a similar point in her drama is perfectly scaled in relation to the simple happiness that irradiated the girl a lithe earlier. It is exactly the sort of thing which gives substance beyond more pious platitude to talk of Callas's artistic integrity." (John Steane. From the liner notes.) 

 

Performers: Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Antonino Votto, Maria Callas, Nicola Monti, Nicola Zaccaria, Eugenia Ratti, Fiorenza Cossotto

 

1.1. Atto I, Scena I: 'Tutto È Gioia, Tutto È Festa...'

1.2. Atto I, Scena I: 'In Elvezia Non V'ha Rosa'

1.3. Atto I, Scena I: 'Care Compagne'

1.4. Atto I, Scena I: 'Come Per Me Sereno...'/'Sempre, O Felice Amina'

1.5. Atto I, Scena I: 'Sovra Il Sen La Man Mi Posa...'

1.6. Atto I, Scena I: 'Io Più Di Tutti, O Amina'

1.7. Atto I, Scena I: 'Perdona, O Mia Diletta'

1.8. Atto I, Scena I: 'L'anel Ti Dono'

1.9. Atto I, Scena I: 'Scritti Nel Ciel Già Sono...'/'Ah! Vorrei Trovar Parole'

1.10. Atto I, Scena I: 'Come Noioso E Lungo Il Cammin'

1.11. Atto I, Scena I: 'Il Mulino... Il Fonte... Il Bosco!...'/'Vi Ravviso, O Luoghi'

1.12. Atto I, Scena I: 'Contezza Del Paese'

1.13. Atto I, Scena I: 'A Fosco Cielo, A Notte Bruna'

1.14. Atto I, Scena I: 'Basta Così. Ciascuno Si Attenga'

1.15. Atto I, Scena I: 'Elvino! E Me Tu Lasci'

1.16. Atto I, Scena I: 'Son Geloso Del Zefiro Errante'

1.17. Atto I, Scena II: 'Davver, Non Mi Dispiace'

1.18. Atto I, Scena II: 'Elvino... Elvino...'

 

2.1. Atto I, Scena II: 'O Ciel! Che Tento?'

2.2. Atto I, Scena II: 'Osservate: L'uscio È Aperto'

2.3. Atto I, Scena II: 'È Menzogna'

2.4. Atto I, Scena II: 'D'un Pensiero E D'un Accento'

2.5. Atto II, Scena I: 'Qui La Selva È Più Folta Ed Ombrosa'

2.6. Atto II, Scena I: 'Reggimi, O Buona Madre'

2.7. Atto II, Scena I: 'Vedi, O Madre... È Afflitto E Mesto...'

2.8. Atto II, Scena I: 'Viva Il Conte!'

2.9. Atto II, Scena I: 'Ah! Perchè Non Posso Odiarti'

2.10. Atto II, Scena II: 'E Fia Pur Vero, Elvino'

2.11. Atto II, Scena II: 'Signor Conte, Agli Occhi Miei'

2.12. Atto II, Scena II: 'Signor?... Che Creder Deggio?'

2.13. Atto II, Scena II: 'Oh! Se Una Volta Sola'

2.14. Atto II, Scena II: 'Ah! Non Credea Mirarti'

2.15. Atto II, Scena II: 'No, Più Non Reggo'

2.16. Atto II, Scena II: 'Ah! Non Giunge Uman Pensiero...'

 

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Blind Boy Fuller - Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order, Volume 1: 23 September 1935 - 29 April 1936

"Blind Boy Fuller (born Fulton Allen, July 10, 1904 or 1907), a Piedmont blues guitarist and singer who was one of the most popular recorded musicians of his era. He was born in Wadesboro, North Carolina, one of ten children of Calvin Allen and Mary Jane Walker. After the death of his mother, he moved with his father to Rockingham, North Carolina. As a boy he learned to play the guitar and also learned from older singers the field hollers, country rags, traditional songs, and blues popular in poor rural areas of North Carolina.

 

"In his teens he worked as a laborer when he began to lose his eyesight. By 1928 he was completely blind, and a 1937 eye examination attributed his vision loss to the long-term effects of untreated neonatal conjunctivitis. He turned to whatever employment he could find as a singer and entertainer, often playing in the streets. By studying the records of country blues players like Blind Blake and live performances by Gary Davis, Allen became an accomplished guitarist, playing on street corners and at house parties in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Danville, Virginia; and then Durham, North Carolina. In Durham, playing around the tobacco warehouses, he developed a local following, which included the guitarists Floyd Council and Richard Trice, the harmonica player Saunders Terrell (better known as Sonny Terry), and the washboard player and guitarist George Washington.

 

"In 1935, James Baxter Long, a record store manager and talent scout in Burlington, North Carolina, secured Allen a recording session with the American Recording Company (ARC). Allen, Davis and Washington recorded several tracks in New York City, including the traditional 'Rag, Mama, Rag.' To promote the records, Long credited Allen as Blind Boy Fuller and Washington as Bull City Red.

 

"Over the next five years Fuller recorded over 120 records, which were released by several labels. His style of singing was rough and direct, and his lyrics were explicit and uninhibited, drawing on every aspect of his experience as an underprivileged, blind [black] man on the streets—pawnshops, jailhouses, sickness, death—with an honesty that lacked sentimentality.

 

"In 1938 Fuller, who was described as having a fiery temper, was imprisoned for shooting a pistol at his wife, wounding her in the leg. His imprisonment prevented him from performing in 'From Spirituals to Swing,' a concert produced by John Hammond in New York City that year. Sonny Terry performed in his place and was the beginning of Terry’s long career in folk music. After Fuller was released from prison, he held his last two recording sessions, in New York City in June 1940, but by then he was increasingly physically weak, and much of the material did not match the quality and energy of his earlier recordings.

 

"Fuller's repertoire included a number of popular double-entendre 'hokum' songs, such as 'I Want Some of Your Pie,' 'Truckin’ My Blues Away' (the origin of the phrase 'keep on truckin''), and 'Get Your Yas Yas Out' (adapted as 'Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out' for the title of an album by the Rolling Stones), and the autobiographical 'Big House Bound,' about his time in prison. Much of his material was culled from traditional folk and blues songs. He possessed a formidable fingerpicking guitar style. He played a steel National resonator guitar. He was criticized by some as a derivative musician, but his ability to fuse together elements of traditional and contemporary songs and reformulate them in his own performances attracted a broad audience, best remembered for his up-tempo ragtime hits, including 'Step It Up and Go.' At the same time he was capable of deeper material, such as, his versions of 'Lost Lover Blues,' 'Rattlesnakin’ Daddy' and 'Mamie.' Much of his repertoire and style is kept alive by other Piedmont artists to this day.

 

"Fuller died at his home in Durham, North Carolina, on February 13, 1941 (aged, maybe, 33 or 36)." (Biography by Juan Alejandro Forrest de Sloper. From his Book of Days Tales blog. See here.)

 

1. Baby, I Don't Have To Worry

2. I'm A Rattlesnakin' Daddy

3. I'm Climbin' On Top Of The Hill

4. Ain't It A Cryin' Shame

5. Looking For My Woman

6. Rag, Mama, Rag

7. Rag, Mama, Rag

8. Baby, You Gotta Change Your Mind

9. Evil Hearted Woman

10. My Brownskin Sugar Plum

11. Somebody's Been Playing With That Thing

12. Log Cabin Blues

13. Log Cabin Blues

14. Homesick And Lonesome Blues

15. Walkin' My Troubles Away

16. Walkin' My Troubles Away

17. Black And Tan

18. Keep Away From My Woman

19. Keep Away From My Woman

20. Babe, You Got To Do Better

21. Big Bed Blues

22. Truckin' My Blues Away

23. She's Funny That Way

24. Cat Man Blues

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Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring

"The day seems to have passed, thankfully, for at least one development sparked by Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' (1913): the concert review in ersatz, proto-Dr. Seuss-style verse, e.g.:

"Who wrote this fiendish Rite of Spring
What right had he to write the thing,
Against our helpless ears to fling
Its crash, clash, cling, clang, bing, bang, bing?
And then to call it Rite of Spring,
the season when on joyous wing
The birds melodious carols sing
And harmony's in everything!
He who could write the Rite of Spring,
If I be right, by right should swing!

"While lynching the composer — which the anonymous author in the Boston Herald of February 9, 1924 appears to advocate in his last couplet — seems a bit excessive as a pan, one must remember that such vituperations only added to the air of succès de scandale that had surrounded Rite since its Paris premiere some ten years earlier. Certainly, the impact of this legendary event (as well as similarly 'colorful' receptions to the work elsewhere) expedited its recognition as an all-around seminal occurrence and achievement in the social history and art of the twentieth century. In understanding early reactions to Rite, it is worth considering that while Stravinsky was at a relatively early stage in his career, a cadre of older, well-known, more traditionally aligned composers — Strauss, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius, Elgar, and yes, Rachmaninov — remained active and retained a good deal of currency with audiences. At the same time, the scenario adopted by the Rite collaborators — Stravinsky, folklorist and artist Roerich, choreographer Nijinsky, impresario Diaghilev — was far from the usual genteel, sentimental, and romantic themes that had theretofore dominated ballet. This collection of 'Scenes from Pagan Russia' (the work's subtitle) concerns itself with an exploration of nature, both human and that of the earth itself, through the rituals of renewal -- ultimately, human sacrifice -- of an earlier, 'primitive' society.

"The titles of the ballet's two main sections, 'A Kiss of the Earth' and 'The Exalted Sacrifice,' as well as those of their internal divisions, make clear both the ritualistic, sacred, and inviolable progression of events reenacted via music and choreography, and the elements of that progression. Stravinsky skillfully sustains and continually heightens a sense of brutal inevitability over the span of the whole work while encapsulating more specific elements in individual scenes. The Introduction raises the curtain on the earth itself, the distinctive bassoon solo plaintively establishing a hushed, reverent mood. More complex colors — which Stravinsky achieves through extreme instrumental ranges (as in the above instance), special playing techniques, and endlessly changing combinations drawn from his greatly expanded orchestra — gradually emerge and expand, only to be cut off subito by a remnant of the original bassoon theme. 'The Augurs of Spring' begins with one of the most famous chords in music history, a crunching bitonal sonority hammered relentlessly in a constant 2/4 meter metrically undermined by unpredictably shifting accents.

"Comparable instances of such rhythmic and harmonic harshness abound throughout the work, these elements assuming, along with instrumental color, both individual and collective roles in a manner analogous to those of the characters. Like the musical elements Stravinsky uses in their portrayal, the girls, youths, and elders function together within the identity of their society, at the same time assuming and asserting individual roles in relation to one another. The action forges ahead in an increasingly frenzied trajectory, finding culmination — in a sort of primal equivalent of cold logic — in the charged, uncompromising sacrifical dance which ends both the ballet and the cycle of its ritual." (Analysis by Michael Rodman. From AllMusic. See here.)

 

Performers: Philharmonia Orchestra, Igor Markevitch

1. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Introduction

2. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Les Augures Printaniers. Danses Des Adolescentes

3. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Jeu Du Rapt

4. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Rondes Printanières

5. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Jeux Des Cités Rivales

6. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Cortège Du Sage

7. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Adoration De La Terre. Le Sage

8. Part I, 'L'Adoration De La Terre': Danse De La Terre

9. Part II, 'Le Sacrifice': Introduction

10. Part II, 'Le Sacrifice': Cercles Mystérieux Des Adolescentes

11. Part II, 'Le Sacrifice': Glorification De L'élue

12. Part II, 'Le Sacrifice': Évocation Des Ancêtres

13. Part II, 'Le Sacrifice': Action Rituelle Des Ancêtres

14. Part II, 'Le Sacrifice': Danse Sacrale. L'Élue

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Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird; Fireworks; The Song of the Nightingale; Tango; Scherzo à la Russe

"Tamara Karsavina, the first Firebird, stood in the wings of the Paris Opera watching Igor Stravinsky, then a young man of 27, approach the orchestra pit. The director of the Ballet Russe, Serge Diaghilev, said to her: 'Mark him well. He is a man on the eve of celebrity.' 

 

"The course of music in our century would not have been the same without the artistic genius of Diaghilev, and never was his judgment more acute than in the case of Stravinsky. Diaghilev had heard the young Russian composer's early 'Fireworks, Op. 4,' at a Siloti concert in St. Petersburg in 1909. He was so taken with the balletic possibilities of this daring and colorful piece that he gave Stravinsky a commission which led, in fairly rapid succession, to 'The Firebird,' 'Petrouchka,' and 'The Rite of Spring,' the triumvirate which projected Stravinsky into world fame before the First World War and remains the cornerstone of his popularity today. Clearly influenced by his early teacher, the great Russian master of orchestration Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky's four-minute orchestral fantasy 'Fireworks' is an ingenious tour de force, a swirling pyrotechnical display with percussion explosions sending aloft cascades of tutti rhythms and oddly placed accents. Contrasting timbres burst into splendor, and the whole is a wonderful display of purposeful confusion. Here, for the first time, was a piece with distinctly Stravinskyan characteristics

 

"'The Firebird' was the first major composition by Stravinsky to be performed. Earlier Diaghilev had asked the composer Liadov to write a ballet based on the Russian fairy tale of the Firebird, but the composer, habitually dilatory, delayed so long that by mutual agreement they turned the task over to Stravinsky. Fokine, the chief choreographer of Ballet Russe, supplied the scenario. The story is actually a variation and combination of several Russian fairy tales, some recorded by Alexander Pushkin, others by A. N. Afanasiev, whose versions themselves, according to Russian historians, are personal variations of the collector. As none of the recurring figures of the tales, such as Ivan Tsarevitch, Kastchei, and the Firebird, has any counterpart in Russian mythology or folklore, the adventures of these fanciful characters are left largely to the invention of the narrator. Diaghilev and his collaborators thought to select certain children's tales and endow them with a definite moral point, and develop the episodes in a sophisticated manner more in keeping with the new Russian dance.

"Stravinsky arranged the 'conte dance' in a series of set numbers connected by musical transitions—a form abandoned in Stravinsky's later work, except for the formal recitatives in 'The Rake's Progress.'

 

"The ballet, except for the unusual harmonic combinations, erratic rhythms, and instrumentation peculiar to Stravinsky's style, is composed in a conventional idiom, again directly influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov. The score, saved by the masterful treatment of the set numbers from being entirely conceived as 'action music,' contains suggestions of the new technique Stravinsky was to use so effectively in 'Petrouchka' and 'The Rite of Spring.' For the most part, however, the ballet is 'orchestral.' The most significant section in terms of his later revolutionary technique is 'The Infernal Dance of Kastchei and His Court.' Stravinsky seemed led into the discovery of this new idiom by his effort to distinguish—in the manner of Rimsky-Korsakov—the human and magical characters of the story. The Prince and Princesses are associated with diatonic themes, some based on actual folk tunes recorded by Rimsky-Korsakov; the music for the supernatural characters is written in an elaborated chromaticism. There was the problem, moreover, of distinguishing between the benign magic of the Firebird and the demonic of Kastchei and his Court. Maintaining his 'magic' idiom for both, Stravinsky distinguishes the two by a curious isolation of instrumental timbres in Kastchei's music, together with an arrogant use of rhythm and percussion, an exciting repetition of short intervals, and a harsh dissonance. What was in 'The Firebird' a literary experiment became an entire musical aesthetic in his later works.

 
"The French composers of the day were struck by the freshness with which Stravinsky had endowed both the traditional Russian technique and that of the impressionists. Claude Debussy, on the occasion of the first performance, came backstage especially to congratulate the composer. Nevertheless, even in this fairly conventional score there were elements that disturbed some listeners. Pavlova herself had refused the title role because the music was, she said, 'nonsense.' Even at so early a date in his career the musical ideas of the young composer proved disquieting. 

 

"At its premiere, 'The Firebird' was a great success. It was to be followed shortly by the revolutionary 'Petrouchka' and the shocking 'Rite of Spring.' Those who had looked forward to a repetition in these works of the shimmering color and the melodic sweetness of 'The Firebird' were disappointed. Firebird was indeed his eve of celebrity, but it was also his farewell to musical impressionism." (Gene Bruck. From the liner notes.)

Performers: London Symphony Orchestra, Antal Dorati

1. Fireworks

2. The Firebird: Introduction

3. The Firebird: The Enchanted Garden Of Kastchei

4. The Firebird: Appearance Of The Firebird, Pursued By Prince Ivan

5. The Firebird: Dance Of The Firebird

6. The Firebird: Capture Of The Firebird By Prince Ivan

7. The Firebird: Supplication Of The Firebird

8. The Firebird: Appearance Of The Enchanted Princesses

9. The Firebird: The Princesses' Game With The Golden Apples (Scherzo)

10. The Firebird: Sudden Appearance Of Prince Ivan

11. The Firebird: Khorovod (Round Dance) Of The Princesses

12. The Firebird: Daybreak

13. The Firebird: Magic Carillon, Appearance Of Kastchei's Monster Guardians, And Capture Of Prince Ivan

14. The Firebird: Arrival Of Kastchei The Immortal

15. The Firebird: Dialogue Of Kastchei And Prince Ivan

16. The Firebird: Intercession Of The Princesses

17. The Firebird: Appearance Of The Firebird

18. The Firebird: Dance Of Khastchei's Retinue, Enchanted By The Firebird

19. The Firebird: Infernal Dance Of All Kastchei's Subjects

20. The Firebird: Lullaby (Firebird)

21. The Firebird: Kastchei's Awakening

22. The Firebird: Kastchei's Death; Profound Darkness

23. The Firebird: Disappearance Of Kastchei's Palace And Magical Creations, Return To Life Of The Petrified Knights, General Rejoicing

24. Tango

25. Scherzo À La Russe

26. The Song Of The Nightingale: Introduction

27. The Song Of The Nightingale: Chinese March

28. The Song Of The Nightingale: Song Of The Nightingale

29. The Song Of The Nightingale: The Mechanical Nightingale's Game

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Igor Stravinsky - Agon; Symphony in Three Movements; Apollo

"Although he had lived in California since 1939 Igor Stravinsky, once the Second World War was over, made regular trips back to Europe in order to promote his career and new compositions. Major works like the 'Mass' (1948) and his first English-language opera 'The Rake's Progress' (1951) received their first performances on European soil, while Stravinsky regularly conducted there. In addition, since his turn towards serialism in the early 1950s, he had become, once more, a darling of the European avant-garde, especially championed by the young conductor/composer/ playmaker firebrand Pierre Boulez who arranged for prestigious Paris premieres of 'Threni,' 'Agon' and other scores at his Domaine Musical concerts.The climax of these transatlantic visits came with Stravinsky's return to his native Russia in September/October 1962 (after an absence of nearly half a century) for concerts in Moscow and Leningrad and a reception with Khrushchev in the Kremlin. 

 

"In 1954 Stravinsky had come to London for the first time since the war — reluctantly and, as he believed, underpaid — to conduct for the Royal Philharmonic Society and to receive its gold medal (subsequently mislaid) and a silver-tipped baton said to have been used by Haydn. In concert he had presented 'Divertimento,' 'Scenes de ballet Petrushko' and 'Orpheus.' But, although his visits to the city now became more regular — and 'Agon' was danced at both the Royal Festival Hall and for the Royal Ballet — it was four years before the capital was to hear an example of Stravinsky's 'new' music under his own baton. This time he again chose a dance-orientated programme — and one that worked backwards in time across his own compositions. 

 

"'Agon' (the classical Greek word for 'contest' and pronounced with a long 'o' to rhyme with 'bone') was commissioned by New York City Ballet's Lincoln Kirstein for the choreographer George Balanchine. The scenario was originally thought of as a dance competition to be given before the ancient gods, but with repertoire ranging from the 17th century (De Lauze's 1623 manual 'Apologie de la Dense' was closely studied) to the modern. Nearly four years passed after the initial composer/choreographer conversations before the completed score — revised by Stravinsky to take account of his development in serial techniques — was given its concert premiere (under Craft) in Los Angeles in June 1957 as part of the composer's 75th birthday celebrations. Stravinsky himself grew tired of waiting for the stage premiere (and left New York just before it) but on I December 1957 Agon's opening — in a bill with 'Apollo,' 'Orpheus' and 'The Firebird' — was, according to The Tribune, 'possibly the most brilliant ballet creation of our day [...] it generates excitement because it concentrates wholly upon the miracle of the dancing body. 'The Symphony in Three Movements' was premiered at Carnegie Hall by the New York Philharmonic in January 1946, just after the composer and his wife had become American citizens. Its strident rhythms suggested to some critics that it was a 'war' or 'victory' symphony, while its second movement made use of some of the abortive film scores Stravinsky had attempted for Hollywood. 'Apollon Musagete' (the name was anglicised to plain 'Apollo' when the composer revised the score in 1947), for strings only, was an abstract two-scene ballet about the nature of beauty. Lastly in London, as a sweetmeat, Stravinsky offered three numbers from the 1945 'Firebird.' 

 

"First studio recordings of both the Symphony (in Carnegie Hall) and 'Agon' (at Hollywood's Goldwyn Studios) were made by the composer immediately after their respective premieres; 'Apollo,' with a starry solo string line-up including John Corigliano and William Lincer, followed in 1950 during the time of Stravinsky's brief contract with RCA. Stereo remakes with the ubiquitous Columbia Symphony Orchestra followed in the 1960s and there also exist some European radio recordings of 'Apollo' and 'Agon.' 

 

"The lead-up to the December 1958 concert was anything but smooth for Stravinsky. 'Threni' had been given its world premiere at Venice's Scuola Grande di San Rocco in September and repeated in Hamburg. But these performances had been with the carefully rehearsed North German Radio Symphony Orchestra. The score's Paris debut — with a Lamoureux Orchestra unused to modern scores at an under-prepared Domaine Musical concert (Boulez himself tried to make amends by hiding among the chorus to give important cues) — was an embarrassing near-disaster. No wonder Stravinsky wrote a concerned letter to his London publisher in the middle of November: '1 am starting a little bit to worry about my program in BBC. 1 — two rehearsals the same day which is extremely fatiguing, 2 — two very difficult works never played by BBC orchestra which takes much time to rehearse (Hans Rosbaud last year prepare 'Agon' in 6 rehearsals!) — 'Agon' and the Symphony, 3 — 'Apollo' requiring only strings means a rehearsal apart from these 4 rehearsals, a thing which was never mentioned in my contract... Unfortunately I cannot count on Robert Craft's help this time.'

 

"While this and the reverberations from Paris were up in the air, Stravinsky's tour of Europe —it also took in a staged 'Oedipus rex' at the Vienna State Opera — continued in a social whirl of artists and intellectuals. His musical assistant Robert Craft's 'Chronicle of a Friendship' notes engagements with Olivier Messiaen (Stravinsky found him and his music 'naïf'), Giacometti, Orson Welles, Graham Greene (whose books Stravinsky and his wife both adored) and T.S. Eliot ('not the most exuberant man I have known but he may be the purest' — he was both a potential collaborator with Stravinsky on an oratorio and the publisher-elect of the first volume of his interviews with Craft). 

 

"Appearing in the London diary in the middle of a sequence of outstanding Beecham concerts and a Lieder recital with Rudolf Kempe at the keyboard, Stravinsky was given nearly a minute's solid applause at his appearance on the platform. Music & Musicians was not alone among the press in being nervous of 'Agon' —'it may be splendid music for the legs for which it was primarily designed; but it grates harshly on the ears, and abrasively on the mind' — but thought that 'even Stravinsky, apostle of clarity, could not complain of the brilliance of the BBC Orchestra's attack or the clean and faultless line of its phrasing. Seized as it was on this night with a sense of occasion, it can play like a band of angels.'" (Mike Ashman. From the liner notes.)

Performers: BBC Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky

1. (Applause)

2. Agon: I. Pas De Quatre

3. Agon: II. Double Pas De Quatre

4. Agon: III. Triple Pas De Quatre

5. Agon: IV. Prelude

6. Agon: First Pas De Trois. V. Saraband-step

7. Agon: First Pas De Trois. VI. Gaillarde

8. Agon: First Pas De Trois. VII. Coda

9. Agon: First Pas De Trois. VIII. Interlude

10. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. IX. Branle Simple

11. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. X. Branle Gay

12. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XI. Branle Double

13. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XII. Interlude

14. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XIII. Pas De Deux

15. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XIV. Coda

16. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XV. Four Duos

17. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XVI. Four Trios

18. Agon: Second Pas De Trois. XVII. Coda

19. Symphony In Three Movements: I. ♩ = 160

20. Symphony In Three Movements: II. Andante - Interlude: L'istesso Tempo

21. Symphony In Three Movements: III. Con Moto

22. Apollo: Tableau I. Prologue: Naissance D'Apollon

23. Apollo: Tableau II. Variation D'Apollon: Apollon Et Les Muses

24. Apollo: Tableau II. Pas D'action: Apollon Et Les Trois Muses, Calliope, Polymnie Et Terpsichore

25. Apollo: Tableau II. Variation De Calliope (L'Alexandrin)

26. Apollo: Tableau II. Variation De Polymnie

27. Apollo: Tableau II. Variation De Terpsichore

28. Apollo: Tableau II. Variation D'Apollon

29. Apollo: Tableau II. Pas De Deux: Apollon Et Terpsichore

30. Apollo: Tableau II. Coda: Apollon Et Les Muses

31. Apollo: Tableau II. Apothéose

32. L'Oiseau De Feu: Finale

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