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Sibelius: Suites - Pelleas et Melisande, King Christian II, Swanwhite / Sakari
Chandos

Sibelius: Suites - Pelleas et Melisande, King Christian II, Swanwhite / Sakari

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Details

Composer
SIBELIUS, JEAN
Artist
Sakari
Format
CD
Label
Chandos
Released
Jul 29, 2014
Catalog #
CHAN 10828 X
UPC
095115182826

About

I cannot remember having enjoyed this music more. Petri Sakari’s performance is totally unaffected, plain and full of enthusiasm; the players sound as if they are enjoying this score and communicate their pleasure.

– Gramophone, reviewing original release

-----

This reissue features performances of incidental music by Jean Sibelius, recorded in 1992 by Petri Sakari and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Sakari’s recordings with this orchestra during the 1990s made a significant contribution to the discography of Scandinavian music, notably of works by Grieg, Sibelius, and Madetoja.

Sibelius composed the score for King Christian II, a play by his friend Adolf Paul, in 1898 and it anticipates the richly romantic sound of the First Symphony. Here the usual suite is expanded by the inclusion of two movements from the incidental music not usually heard: the Menuetto and "The Fool’s Song."

Maurice Maeterlinck’s much-performed yet complex psychological drama Pelléas et Mélisande inspired works by Debussy, Fauré, Schoenberg, and Sibelius, whose incidental music consists mainly of interludes in a uniquely dark, subdued, and typically Nordic vein.

Altogether sweeter is the delicate and poetic score for Swanwhite, August Strindberg's "idealistic play of pure beauty." Sibelius condensed the original music into a charming concert suite of seven movements, five of which are recorded here.

Tracklist 21 tracks

  1. 1 I. At the Castle Gate 03:36
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. At the Castle Gate
    Duration
    03:36
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  2. 2 II. Melisande 04:24
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Melisande
    Duration
    04:24
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  3. 3 IIa. At the Seashore 02:16
    Track
    3
    Title
    IIa. At the Seashore
    Duration
    02:16
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  4. 4 III. A Spring in the Park 02:18
    Track
    4
    Title
    III. A Spring in the Park
    Duration
    02:18
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  5. 5 IV. The 3 Blind Sisters 02:34
    Track
    5
    Title
    IV. The 3 Blind Sisters
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  6. 6 V. Pastorale 01:58
    Track
    6
    Title
    V. Pastorale
    Duration
    01:58
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  7. 7 VI. Melisande and the Spinning Wheel 02:02
    Track
    7
    Title
    VI. Melisande and the Spinning Wheel
    Duration
    02:02
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  8. 8 VII. Entr'acte 02:52
    Track
    8
    Title
    VII. Entr'acte
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  9. 9 VIII. The Death of Melisande 06:31
    Track
    9
    Title
    VIII. The Death of Melisande
    Duration
    06:31
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  10. 10 II. The Harp 04:05
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. The Harp
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  11. 11 III. The Maidens with the Roses 03:10
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. The Maidens with the Roses
    Duration
    03:10
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  12. 12 V. The Prince alone 04:28
    Track
    12
    Title
    V. The Prince alone
    Duration
    04:28
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  13. 13 VI. Swanwhite and the Prince 03:43
    Track
    13
    Title
    VI. Swanwhite and the Prince
    Duration
    03:43
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  14. 14 VII. Song of Praise 03:24
    Track
    14
    Title
    VII. Song of Praise
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  15. 15 I. Nocturne 07:26
    Track
    15
    Title
    I. Nocturne
    Duration
    07:26
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  16. 16 II. Élégie - 05:16
    Track
    16
    Title
    II. Élégie -
    Duration
    05:16
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  17. 17 IIa. Musette 02:15
    Track
    17
    Title
    IIa. Musette
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  18. 18 III. Menuetto 02:01
    Track
    18
    Title
    III. Menuetto
    Duration
    02:01
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  19. 19 IV. Fool's Song of the Spider 04:12
    Track
    19
    Title
    IV. Fool's Song of the Spider
    Duration
    04:12
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Performer
    Sauli Tiilikainen
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  20. 20 V. Serenade 04:55
    Track
    20
    Title
    V. Serenade
    Duration
    04:55
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari
  21. 21 VI. Ballade 05:14
    Track
    21
    Title
    VI. Ballade
    Duration
    05:14
    Composer
    Jean Sibelius
    Ensemble
    Iceland Symphony Orchestra
    Conductor
    Petri Sakari