Composer: Igor Stravinsky
Performer: Hallé Choir
Orchestra: Verbier Festival Orchestra
Conductor: Kent Nagano
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Release: 2023
Size: 258 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Les noces
01. Premier tableau: La tresse
02. Deuxième tableau: Chez le marié
03. Troisième tableau: Le départ de la mariée
04. Quatrième tableau: Le repas de noces
Le Sacre du Printemps
05. I. Introduction
06. Il. Les augures printaniers
07. III. Jeu du rapt
08. IV. Rondes printanières
09. V. Jeux des cités rivales
10. VI. Cortège du sage: Le sage
11. VII. Embrasse de la terre
12. VIll. Danse de la terre
13. IX. Introduction
14. X. Cercles mysteriéux des adolescentes
15. XI. Glorification d’élue
16. XIl. Évocation des ancêtres
17. XIlI. Action rituelle des ancêtres
18. XIV. Danse sacrale: L’élue
Orchestral performances from music festivals are seldom worth going out of one’s way for; the players are often second-stringers, and the celebrity music directors may be there to pick up a paycheck and get to their own summer homes. There are exceptions to the rule, however, and many have come from the Verbier Festival in Switzerland, also a good place to observe the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Deutsche Grammophon has recently issued several performances with the Verbier Festival Orchestra led by conductor Kent Nagano, and these are cases in point. Consider the present release, with two well-trodden works by Stravinsky. They seem fresh in Nagano’s readings, with slight little twists that increase the intensity in the big rhythmic numbers like “Les augures printaniers” from Le Sacre du printemps and “Chez le marié” from Les Noces and a precise, slightly deliberate approach that brings out plenty of rhythmic detail in Le Sacre du printemps. Nagano handles his vocal soloists well in Les Noces, holding them to the tempo and catching Stravinsky’s deft counterpoint. It is all quite exciting, and it was rewarded with substantial applause; this is retained on the recording. A stirring Stravinsky recording that will be welcomed even by those who have many recordings of these works in their collections.