2 CD + Book

Félicien David was already famous through his ‘ode-symphonie’ Le Désert (1844) when his opera Herculanum was first staged at the Paris Opéra in 1859. This ambitious work, later to gain him entrance to the Opéra-Comique and the Institut de France, also played a part in earning him the Légion d’Honneur. Leaving behind the Middle Eastern inflections of his earlier scores, Herculanum is a remarkably strong composition (vast, intensely dramatic scenes), impressive in the diversity of its style (including Verdian influences) and its vocal variety (including the rare coloratura contralto voice often used by Rossini). There is also a fantastic vein, as made popular by Boieldieu (La Dame blanche, 1825) and Meyerbeer (Robert le Diable, 1831); but the supernatural is used here to serve an openly stated mysticism: the eruption of Vesuvius brings a spectacular, cataclysmic ending, signifying the decadence of the ancient world and the triumph of Christianity.

REVIEW:

Anyone interested in this period of operatic history will find the release fascinating. There’s much to enjoy, too, from the singers, who by and large make as eloquent a case for the piece as one could reasonably imagine. Véronique Gens is in fine, classy form as Lilia, and is well matched by Edgaras Montvidas as Hélios. Karine Deshayes is terrific as Olympia, too, although might perhaps have offered more in the way of imperious hauteur. The lower-voiced men are perhaps a touch disappointing, with Nicolas Courjal a rather too avuncular Satan. Hervé Niquet conducts with spirit, and the orchestra and chorus sing and play with commitment.

-- Gramophone

Each volume in the ‘Portraits’ series is devoted to a French composer who has now largely been forgotten. With performances by many talentes artists, it presents a panorama of his works. The ‘Portrait’ of Félicien David aims to complement the discography already available with world premiere recordings of the composer’s works. Among these are a glimpse of his orchestral output, with the Symphony no. 3 and the Overture to his opéra-comique La Perle du Brésil, the work that really launched David on his operatic career. But it is above all Christophe Colomb (1847) that deserves mention, for this ode-symphonie with speaker was an ambitious follow-up to the success of Le Désert, performed at the Théâtre-Italien some years earlier. Nevertheless, this anthology does not forget that Félicien David was also a figure of the salons, admired for his intimate music and especially his songs. The programme therefore offers a chance to discover excerpts from the Mélodies orientales for solo piano, a selection of romances in the style of the 1840s, and the very rare early motets for chorus in varied scorings. The culmination of this Portrait is the restoration of Le Jugement dernier, which was intended as the concluding apotheosis of the opera Herculanum, but was finally deleted and has never been published until today.

REVIEW:

The model of Christophe Colomb (1847) resembles that of Le Désert: an ode-symphonie for narrator soloists, chorus and orchestra. While it may not be as inspired as the earlier work, it is still an impressive composition. In the work, Columbus is portrayed as a great leader, one who could inspire his men to follow him into the unknown, even in the face of a revolt, as is seen in the third section. As with Le Désert, the piece combines operatic elements, such as arias and choruses, with spoken dialogue and orchestral passages, resulting in quite a dramatic work. The performance is excellent; I greatly enjoyed the singing of Josef Wagner, who has gravitas in the title role. The Flemish Radio Choir and Les Siècles under François-Xavier Roth sparkle.

The second disc opens with a spirited rendition of the overture from David’s opéra comique La perle du Brésil of 1851. This is followed by the highlight of this disc, Le Jugement dernier. It was originally planned as part of the final act of the opera Herculanum of 1859, but was eventually cut from the work. All I can say is that if this fourteen-minute choral masterpiece is anything to go by, then I am even more eager to buy the complete opera. The Symphony in E flat Major is not the best work here. It is something of a letdown after the other pieces. It lacks the intensity and fluid writing of the other pieces here. The disc concludes with Six Motets, which contain some very fine choral writing and are typically French in character. They are accompanied by the organ, expertly played by Francois Saint-Yves. The Flemish Radio Choir gives a first-rate performance again, with Hervé Niquet proving he is the master of both the chorus and the wonderful Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra.

The third disc offers the listener three genres of music usually forgotten is such sets, but here it completes, apart from opera, those areas in composition where David was active. Firstly, we are offered seven Mélodies. They complement perfectly those offered by the baritone Tassis Christoyannis on his Aparte disc. Duo Contraste’s tenor Cyrill Dubois brings a lightness of tone to some of these songs that made me think of Schubert. This is backed up by the excellent playing of Tristan Raës. There is real drama in these songs too. L'égyptienne could almost be linked to Le Désert with its references to the Middle East. Then follows the Piano Trio No. 1, a work that that—like Symphony No. 3—for me lacks a little imagination and inspiration. Schubert is once again drawn to mind. The performance by Pascal Monlong, Pauline Buet and David Violi is admirable. It is the work with its formality that lacks the spark of genius. The final offering is a selection of four of David’s short piano works. These are hardly indicative of his piano music, but they do give a further insight into his art.

As with all releases in this series, it is lavishly packaged in the form of a 133-page hardback book containing excellent essays on the composer and his music, as well as full texts and translations, French and English, of the sung texts. Particularly poignant is Saint-Saëns’s touching epitaph that begins “The tomb has barely closed on Félicien David, and music owes a tear to his memory”. This is a recording that should reinvigorate the composer and his music, and show it in a stronger light. This is an excellent introduction to a composer who is hardly a household name and who, on this evidence deserves better recognition. He was not just an acolyte of Berlioz but an important composer in his own right, as most of the music and documentation here clearly shows.

-- MusicWeb International

Dante Alighieri, born in Florence in 1265, was at once a poet and an important political figure of his time. His celebrated Divine Comedy relates his supposed descent to Hell and slow ascent to Paradise. Godard’s operatic treatment of his life (1890) skilfully juxtaposes the political milieu – crowd scenes in Florence and the quarrel between Guelfs and Ghibellines – with the expression of the courtly love he feels for Beatrice, betrothed to his friend Bardi. The most remarkable element of the opera is the integration of a ‘Vision’ that is nothing less than a synthesis of the Divine Comedy set to music. Its third act is built around a fantasy ‘Hell’ and ‘Paradise’, featuring an Apparition of Virgil, Chorus of the Damned, Infernal Whirlwind, Divine Radiance and Apotheosis of Beatrice. Godard is here at the peak of his melodic inspiration and compositional mastery, in a style that brings Gounod up to date and need not fear comparison with Massenet.

REVIEW:

In this musically and stylistically adept performance, the listener will be distressed only by a lack of vocal weight in the two leads, especially Edgaras Montvidas’s Dante (though his characterization features all the necessary passion). Véronique Gens’s Béatrice, too, is hard-pressed in the heavier episodes, but as always, the soprano’s artistry abounds in elegance and unforced charm.

Key supporting roles feature mezzo Rachel Frenkel (as Gemma), a splendidly musical artist with an exceptionally colorful timbre, and baritone Jean-François Lapointe (as Bardi), whose wonderfully velvety instrument sails on top. The small roles are finely performed by bass-baritone Andrew Foster-Williams (as Old Man and Ghost of Virgil), tenor Andrew Lepri Meyer (as Herald) and in particular mezzo Diana Assenti (as Student), who’s enchanting in the Student’s ode to Virgil.

On the podium, Ulf Schirmer takes to Godard effortlessly, inspiring much lyrically rewarding and dramatically hair-raising playing. The chorus performs rousingly, although in merely serviceable French.

This release includes a beautifully illustrated, almost 150-page book with the full text and an English translation, a first-hand account of the premiere from the journal Le Charivari, an in-depth musical analysis and articles focusing on the attention paid to Dante in nineteenth-century music and art.

-- Opera News

Each volume in the 'Portraits' series is devoted to a composer who has now largely been forgotten; it presents a varied selection of his works. Theodore Dubois is the perfect example of the 'official' composer during the time of French Romanticism: he successively was a Prix de Rome recipient (1861), organist at the Madeleine (1877), an academician (1894), and director of the Conservatoire (1896) where he had been teaching since 1871. However, so much injustice as well as honor was heaped upon his music - accused of academic rigidity - that it is important to rehear it to be in a better position to judge it's real interest value. A representative selection of works, typically previously unrecorded, is provided on this multi-faceted book-CD: A biography, extracts from Dubois' recollections, as well as articles discussing the composer's style and personality.

Renaud (1783) marked Sacchini's debut in Paris. Despite much criticism from the supporters of his rivals Gluck and Piccinni, Renaud was a success and Sacchini became the new favourite of Marie- Antoinette. Encouraged by the public who saw him as one of the finest composers of that time, he enriched the repertoire of the Paris Opéra with several masterpieces. Some of them were staged regularly for many years. Renaud was presented almost without interruption until 1799, and was revived in 1815. This recording has been made at the Arsenal of Metz in October 2012.

One evening I paid a visit to the Op�ra. There I saw Les Dana�des, by Salieri. The gorgeous splendor of the spectacle, the rich fullness of the orchestra and the chorus, the wonderful voice and pathetic charm of Madame Branchu, D�riviss rugged power filled me with an excitement and enthusiasm that I cannot attempt to describe. Thus Berlioz related his encounter with one of the most revolutionary operas of the ancien r�gime, written by an eminent pupil of Gluck, Antonio Salieri. Feeling the stirrings of early Romanticism, the latter imbued the tragic fate of Hypermnestra with pathos and vehemence such as were rarely attained even by his teacher. The horrible plot fomented by Danaus with his daughters, the Danaids, takes us from palatial splendor to the sinister darkness of a secret temple, and finally to the Underworld itself, where a vulture, serpents, demons and the Furies avenge the mass murder of the sons of Egyptus.