Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Performer: Sophie Koch
Orchestra: Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Riccardo Chailly
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Decca
Catalogue: 4832562
Release: 2018
Size: 1.17 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Chant Funèbre
02. Fireworks, Op. 4
03. Scherzo Fantastique, Op. 3
The Faun and The Shepherdess, Op. 2
04. 1. La Bergère
05. 2. Le Faune
06. 3. Le Torrent
Le Sacre du Printemps
Pt 1: L’Adoration de la Terre
07. 1. Introduction
08. 2. Les augures printaniers – Danses des adolescentes
09. 3. Jeu du rapt
10. 4. Rondes printanières
11. 5. Jeux des cités
12. 6a. Cortège du sage
13. 6b. Le sage
14. 7. Danse de la terre
Le Sacre du Printemps
Pt 2: Le Sacrifice
15. 1. Introduction
16. 2. Cercles mysteriéux des adolescentes
17. 3. Glorification d’élue
18. 4. Évocation des ancêtres
19. 5. Action rituelle des ancêtres
20. 6. Danse sacrale: l’élue
This live performance has a novel premise: it pairs The Rite of Spring with some pieces that led up to it. The big news is the Chant funèbre of 1908, lost (Stravinsky said he remembered it as one of his strongest early pieces and hoped someone would uncover it), rediscovered at the Moscow Conservatory, and given frequent performances in 2016 and 2017. This is the first recording. It’s an adept, beautifully orchestrated, and heartfelt work (the funeral referred to was Rimsky-Korsakov’s), but it makes even more sense when combined with the colorful Feu d’artifice Op. 4, the energetic Scherzo fantastique, Op. 3, and the vocal The Faun and the Shepherdess, Op. 2, which sees Stravinsky experimenting with primitive imagery. Each of these pieces contributed something to the mature phase of Stravinsky’s career, and Chailly takes a little time at the opening of The Rite, as if to suggest that Stravinsky thought, “Oh, yeah, this is how you do it.” The Rite of Spring itself has had wilder interpretations, but Chailly is working with a Lucerne Festival Orchestra he knows well, and the performance has both a swing and an edge. A nice find for Stravinsky lovers.