Debussy: Le martyre de saint Sébastien

On this CD:

1. Ballades de François Villon (3), song cycle for voice & piano (or orchestra), L.119
Composed by Claude Debussy
Performed by Bernard Plantey
Conducted by Desire-Emile Inghelbrecht

2. Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, incidental music for solo voices, chorus, & orchestra, L. 124
Composed by Claude Debussy
Performed by Jeannine Collard, Christiane Gayraud, Claudine Collart
Conducted by Desire-Emile Inghelbrecht

Tracks:

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Preludes, Book One: The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
Two Nocturnes: Fetes
Preludes, Book One: The Sunken Cathedral
Suite Bergamasque: Claire de lune
Children's Corner Suite: Golliwogg's Cake-Walk
Reverie
Iberia: Le Matin D'un Jour De Fete
Deux Arabesques: Arabesque No. 1: Andante Con Motto
Martyrdom Of Saint Sebastian: Prelude To The Council Of The False gods
String Quartet In G Minor, Op. 10: Scherzo. Assex Vif Et Bien Rythme
La Mer: I. De L'aube A Midi Sur La Mer
La Mer: II. Jeux De Vagues
La Mer: III. Dialogue Du Vent Et De La Mer

Customer Reviews:

Probably the best compilation of a single composer's works. Ever!.......2007-05-06

Claude Debussy is perhaps the most understated composer in the history of man. His ability to compose both on the piano and for orchestra is unmatched, in my humble opinion. The fact that Debussy was able to also arrange many contemporary and previous composers' works just adds to his resume. He had a gift, pure and simple.

Although this album doesn't (well, honestly it couldn't) contain all of Debussy's catalog, it does certainly contain some of his best work. There is actually only one track on this CD that I don't care for; that would be Golligwogg's Cake-Walk; it is just a bit annoying to me.

Beyond my dislike for that one track, the entire CD is a beautifully aranged, beautifully played, well recorded compilation with good sound mixing and it is a respectful tribute to a truly great composer.

"Claire de Lune" (Moonlighting) is perhaps one of the most gorgeous pieces of music ever composed; this is the orchestrated version, which I prefer, but the piano version is nice. "Arabesque No. 1" is superb. "Fetes" is both haunting and airy. "Reverie" is the best piano piece I have ever heard. "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair" is also a wonderful piano piece. "The Sunken Cathedral" is dark and mysterious, a true wonder.

The rest of the album is fantastic. Listed above are just my personal favorites from the disc. I listen to this CD at least once a week, but often more. It is perfect for relaxation, for listening while reading, or for my personal favorite use, to block out noise while I am writing.

I would recommend this to any classical lover.

If you have not heard Debussy's music, you must get this CD; it will have you ordering more of his compositions almost immediately.

The man was a genius.

This is a brilliant assembly of Debussy. .......2006-07-08

After listening to his "Greatest Hits," I know why he is considered one of the best.

THIS IS THE STUFF RIGHT HERE!.......2005-09-12

I BOUGHT THIS BECAUSE I WAS TRYING EXPAND MY HORIZONS, YOU KNOW? CULTURALLY AND MENTALLY, YOU KNOW? SERIOUSLY THOUGH I WAS IN THE SHOP AND I WAS HAVING A GAZE AROUND THE PLACE AND THEN THIS PICTURE JUST JUMPS OUT AT ME, AND I PICKED IT UP AND IT WAS THIS DEBUSSY CHAP AND ID HEARD ABOUT HIM ON THE BBC LEARNING ZONE SO I THOUGHT ;why not?; SERIOUSLY THOUGH I DRAGGED IT HOME AND I POPPED IT IN THE OLD CD PLAYER AND IT FLOORED ME.......I MEAN SERIOUSLY THIS THING...AMAAZING STUFF..I MEAN TODAYS MUSIC HAS NOTHING, NOTHING NOTHING ON THIS STUFF RIGHT HERE.

SOME GOOD TRACKS ARE:
TRACK 1 IS THE BEST. THE OPENING FLUTE ON THE TRACK IS TOTALLY CHILLED AND COOL, REMINDS ME A BIT OF TRACK 13 ON ILL COMMUNICATION BY THE BEASTIE BOYS...A COINCIDENCE???

THE ONLY WEAK TRACK ON THE ALBUM IS TRACK 6, THE UNFORTUNATELY TITLED "CHILDRENS CORNER SUITE: GOLLIWOGGS CAKE WALK" THE MUSIC IS JUST DATED MAN, JUST AS DATED AS THE TITLE.

OVERALL THOUGH THIS IS A QUALITY ALBUM, WITH CHILLS, SPILLS AND THRILLS. SERIOUSLY THOUGH A FINE EFFORT.

Debussy is the best. Ever........2004-07-23

I love Debussy and all of his brilliant work. I barely listen to any other classical music, so I am not an authority, just an honest lover of music. I play piano and love piano music, so I was not disappointed at a piano Flaxen-Haired Girl. I've never heard an orchestrated version and don't need to. This is a good introductory CD to Debussy's work, I love it! The only thing I don't care for is the Arabesque #1 (Track 9). The horn is kind of grating and clunky to hear in such an otherwise beautiful piece. Still, its interesting and different. Everything Debussy made is purest gold.

i am dumb.......2004-07-01

And I'm a doomass because I didn't proof-read my other review and I wrote that Clair de Lune was performed by piano on this disc, which it isn't. Anyway, the piano version is better.

Average customer rating:

La Mer is one of my all-time favorites
Wonderful
Great interpretations, but the recorded sound is ok
Ravishing Debussy from a master of French music

Debussy: La Mer

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Ravel: Boléro
Haydn: The London Symphonies, Vol. 1
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Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade/Capriccio Espagnol
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta; Hungarian Sketches

ASIN: B00002MXMY
Release Date: 1999-11-09

Tracks:

La Mer: I. De l'aube a midi sur la mer
La Mer: II. Jeux de vagues
La Mer: III. Dialogue du vent et de la mer
Jeux
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): La Cour des lys
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): Danse extatique et Final du Premier Acte
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): La Passion
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien I (Fragments symphoniques): Le Bon Pasteur
Prelude 'aprmidi d'un faune

Tracks:

Images pour orchestre: Gigues
Images pour orchestre: Iberia: I. Par les rues et par les chemins
Images pour orchestre: Iberia: II. Les Parfums de la nuit
Images pour orchestre: Iberia: III. Le Matin d'un jour de f
Images pour orchestre: Rondes de printemps
Trois Noctures: Nuages
Trois Noctures: Fs
Trois Noctures: Sirs
Printemps: Trmod
Printemps: Mod

Customer Reviews:

La Mer is one of my all-time favorites.......2006-01-11

There is nothing quite like Dutoit's handling of some of Debussy's timeless masterpieces. All have enormous strength and have clear sound quality. The piece that gives me the shivers the most is La Mer. It has the perfect oceanic feeling that some other conductors forget about. I can just imagine the stormy sea letting out its dangerous but majestic fury when listening to the third movement. Images for Orchestra and Printemps are also fabulous. Highly recommended for those who are interested in impressionistic music.

Wonderful.......2004-03-30

Charles Dutoit does so pretty wonderful things with this Debussy set and his orchestra is in top-notch form. Dutoit handles these works well, bringing delicacy of phrasing, sweeping crescendos, and awesome sonics. Rarely does can an orchestra sound calm, quiet, even serene AND loud, dramatic, and forceful. La Mer is particularly striking in Dutoit's hands. Decca's crystal clear sound makes this set even more attractive. Highly recommended.

Great interpretations, but the recorded sound is ok.......2002-08-30

Charles Dutoit does so pretty wonderful things with this Debussy set and his orchestra is in top notch form. However, the reason I gave this CD set only 4 starts is because the recorded sound less much to be desired. The cd sound is very "echo"y, it sounds like the orchestra is playing in a cave, not a concert hall. If that doesn't bother you then go for this set. As for me, I want Debussy with a little clearer of a sound.

Ravishing Debussy from a master of French music.......1999-12-11

Most of Dutoit's Debussy recordings were released at the beginning of the 1990s and are of the same very high standard of his Ravel and Poulenc recordings, and it is good to have the best-known of them reissued on a well-documented 2-CD bargain set. The sound quality is fantastic. This set comes into competition with Haitink's excellent Philips Duo set, and choice between the two sets will probably be determined by the minor works included. The Haitink set has long been the first recommendation in this repertoire, and the analogue sound is excellent, if not as spectacular as that of the Dutoit set. It should be noted, however, that those who buy the Dutoit set along with Martinon's "Orchestral Works II" set on EMI's Double Forte label will have obtained virtually all of Debussy's orchestral compositions and transcriptions all for not too many dead presidents.

Claude Debussy: Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien

Average customer rating:

Satisfied
A Finely Honed Performance of Debussy's Complete Martyre de Saint Sébastien
Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien
A great interpretation of a rarity
Fascinating

Claude Debussy: Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien
Claude Debussy , Michael Tilson Thomas , Leslie Caron , Ann Murray , Nathalie Stutzmann , Sylvia McNair , and London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Arthur Honegger: Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher
Debussy: Nocturnes; La Damoiselle élue; Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien
Mussorgsky: The Nursery: Sunless; Songs and Dances of Death
Debussy - Pelleas et Melisande / Boulez, Archer, Hagley, Welsh National Opera
Debussy's Harp

ASIN: B0000027WZ
Release Date: 1993-03-23

Tracks:

The Court of Lilies: No1: Prelude.Lent
The Court of Lilies: No2: Sebastian
The Court of Lilies: No3: Danse extatique de Sebastien sur le charbons embrases
The Magic Chamber: No1: Prelude. Tres modere
The Magic Chamber: No2: Je fauchais l'epi de froment
The Magic Chamber: No3: Qui pleure mon enfant si doux
The Council of the False Gods: No1 & No2: Prelude. Modere
The Council of the False Gods: No3: Paian, Lyre d'or, Arc d'argent!
The Council of the False Gods: No4: Avez-vous vu celui que j'aime?
The Council of the False Gods: No5: Ne pleurez plus!
The Council of the False Gods: No6: Io! Io! Adoniastes!
The Council of the False Gods: No7: Il est mort, le bel Adonis
The Wounded Laurel: No1: Prelude. Sombre et lent
The Wounded Laurel: No2: Il est la, le Pasteur. Regardez
The Wounded Laurel: No3: Helas
Paradise: No1: Inderlude. Modere
Paradise: No2: Gloire!

Amazon.com

The first production of Debussy's ballet Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian in 1911 was a resounding failure with Paris audiences, and its whirlpool of blatant homoeroticism and questionable taste resulted in a ban from the archbishop of Paris. The result of a chaotic collaboration between three controversial artists (Debussy, D'Annunzio, and Ida Rubinstein), Sebastian is a true curiosity--I, a lover of Debussy, find it unendurable. This fine performance by Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra is of the concert version. --Joshua Cody

Customer Reviews:

Satisfied.......2006-02-24

The disk was difficult to obtain, but it was a nice surprise to find it in the original packing and in pristine condition.

A Finely Honed Performance of Debussy's Complete Martyre de Saint Sébastien.......2005-09-17

Though originally a failure in its original form as a ballet/mystery play, a collaboration from Debussy, Gabriel D'Annunzio and Ida Rubenstein (who oddly assumed the role of Sébastien!), Michel Fokine and Leon Baskt, the orchestral excerpts continue to be part of the repertoire of some of the finer orchestras around the globe. Here Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and soloists in as complete a version of the musical aspects of this theatrical event as possible. The result is slightly over an hour of some truly gorgeous Debussy!

Though the movements are rather start and stop on this recording, that is not a fault: it is the nature of this episodic work. The otherworldly music feels coaxed from the inner voices of the orchestra and chorus and is superbly interpreted by Thomas. The soloists include Ann Murray, Sylvia McNair and Nathalie Stutzmann and are all excellent. Enhancing the concept of the work as a whole is the wise inclusion of the narrator (known as Recitant and Le Saint) and Leslie Caron delivers a wholly committed performance. In all, Tilson Thomas shines here.

While there are other recordings of the shorter Symphonic Fragments of this work, namely the recording by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Dawn Upshaw and Paula Rasmussen which is perfection, having the option of this total experience is well worth adding the recording to your library. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, September 05

Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien.......2005-08-24

A beautiful musical work by the master. Oddly, not often heard. This happens to be one of those rare "hidden masterpieces". Ms Caron is excellent. A good add to any collection.

A great interpretation of a rarity.......2001-05-16

I've enjoyed this disc than everything I have heard in the last year or so. Michael Tilson Thomas is a great conductor indeed - the best of his generetion along with Sir Simon. His orchestra - the LSO - is at top form, the soloists are magnificent and it's beyond any doubt that you can not find a match for this piece. Most of the times there are some passages as a fill-ups in some Debussy discs ( Baremboim's account on DG is one of them) but there is so much more to that music. A joyful experience. A must for any classical music lover.

Fascinating.......2000-08-10

At first I thought I would hate this reading of Martyre because it didn't look particularly good on paper. Sure, it's toned down, but it's British and the performance standards are high. Thomas makes the difference, and it seems he's rehearsed his forces to an inch of their lives.

We have to kiss the text goodbye--the feeling just isn't there--but D'Annunzio's medieval five tableux structure is effectively handled, and at least some of the D'Annunzian richness shines through along with the astounding music. The cast handles all this the best it can and makes something of it once in awhile.

I have to correct Mr. Cody on a couple of things: Cardinal Amette and the Paris chancery would love you to think Martyre was a flop, but it wasn't at all. Parisians fell over each other to get tickets, just as Americans went nuts with "Mondo Cane", "Women of the World" and "Bocaccio '70". If you read the old papers from 1912, Martyre was a great event, ballyhooed as a great achievement by Rubenstein and her company.

Count de Montesquiou rather orchestrated public opinion: he used tough methods to suppress those who would slander Debussy and D'Annunzio and defame Rubenstein (we're talking about intercepted love letters and a host of other indiscretions that the Count used as collateral to keep opponents under control, Bourget being one who should have known not to cast stones). Performances were packed. Toscanini loved it and immediately asked Debussy and D'Annunzio for it to take to La Scala where it triumphed. Revue Bleu kind of gave it problems, but essentially the papers said "nice try, beautiful staging, Rubenstein was divine." It was revived at the Opera in 1957 where it made a great impression. I don't remember who conducted but it may have been Louis Fourestier or Jean-Michel LeConte.

Tracks:

Nocturnes: I. Nuages
Nocturnes: II. Fetes
Nocturnes: III. Sirenes
La damoiselle elue: Poeme lyrique d'apres Dante Gabriel Rossetti
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien: I. La Cour des lys. Prelude
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien: II. Danse extatique et Final du 1er Acte
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien: III. La Passion
Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien: IV. Le Bon Pasteur

Amazon.com

Esa-Pekka Salonen's take on these Debussy classics is a shade faster than most, but not so much so as to destroy the delicate tapestries of the music. This is especially true in Nocturnes. Salonen's advantage here is that he's got the Los Angeles Philharmonic whose sound is rich and, where it needs to be, deep. This strength can be found in the beautiful La Damoiselle elue (The Blessed Damozel), based on poems by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Dawn Upshaw's voice has never sounded so fine. Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien, a somber symphonic fragment, is almost uncharacteristic of the composer. Recommended anyway. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

Lesser-known Debussy.......2005-11-30

This offering from Sony Classics features three lesser-known works by the French impressionist master Claude Debussy. The three Nocturnes (Nuages, Fetes, and Sirenes) show Debussy at his most visual. He describes Nuages as the slow changing night sky, Fetes as a night festival, and Sirenes as a song heard on the sea. Nuages focuses on the shifting of orchestral colors through lush chord changes and expansive melodic lines. Fetes is more extroverted, featuring ever-changing irregular rhythms, growing into a march, complete with tricky fanfares and eventually fading into the evening. Sirenes adds the element of wordless women's choir, an effect that is rather haunting. The undulating motion of voices mixing duples and triples keeps an uneasy feeling of being at sea, but the sultriness of being lured further to sea by some unearthliness. Captivating.

The Blessed Damozel is a 20-minute work for orchestra, soprano, and 4-part women's chorus. It is a sentimental setting of a poem, by the same name, by Dante Rossetti. The story tells of a woman in heaven who wishes she could be with her lover, a man who is still on Earth. The soprano part is sung by the masterful Dawn Upshaw, who performs beautifully. The music is of a young Debussy, at least compared to the other works on this disk, but his voice is clear. It is nice to have this rarely performed miniature masterpiece.

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian is about a young officer who is ordered to have himself killed by his own archers because he had sympathy over the persecution of Christians. This concert suite is in four movements (The Court of the Lilies, Ecstatic Dance, The Passion, and The Good Shepherd). The first movement is a short chorale-like prelude, the second is the youths' vision of sympathy for the Christians while performing trials on hot coals, the third is Sebastian's awaiting martyrdom, and the fourth is the site of the martyrdom. This is the most personal and intense music I have ever heard from Debussy. Rather subdued, Debussy lets you know this is serious music, and the tone doesn't change until the last four bars of the last movement when Sebastian views the "good shepherd".

The playing by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen is extrodinary; many hours have been put into the details of these works. The sound is vivid and vibrant. The chorus is also very good and the soloist outstanding. While I suggest you start with more familiar Debussy if you are new to his music (try Salonen's 2nd Debussy outing on Sony or Boulez on DG), these less-performed works are a nice completion to the works of Debussy, and excellently performed.

Absolutely Beautiful........2003-09-24

Many thanks to the artists who worked tirelessly to record this piece of perfection. It is absolutely beautiful and inspiring. It is a revelation to the genius of Debussy.

The World Of Debussy.......2002-10-10

Two rarities from Claude Debussy's wide-ranging impressionist music terrain are placed together with one of his most popular works on this excellent 1993 recording by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and music director Esa-Pekka Salonen. Perhaps surpassed only by Pierre Boulez in the realm of Debussy interpreters, Salonen and the orchestra weave a textural soundscape of mystical scope.

The rarely heard cantata "La Damoiselle Elue", based on a poem by Dante Gabriel Rozetti, is superbly performed by the orchestra and a fine pair of vocalists, Dawn Upshaw and Paula Rasmussen, along with the women of the world-famous Los Angeles Master Chorale. The orchestra shines on its own in the even rarer "Martyrdom Of St. Sebastien", whose music Debussy composed for a play by the exiled Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio.

The opening work, the celebrated three-part suite "Nocturnes", is of course one of the high watermarks of all time in classical music. In this work, Debussy depicts his impressions and special effects of light: "Clouds"; "Festivals"; and "Sirens." This last section, based like "La Mer" on his impressions of the sea, features a wordless female choir--and once again, the L.A. Master Chorale's women's section performs admirably in their role.

For anyone with a taste of musical impressionism in general and Debussy in particular, this recording is one well worth searching for.

Masterpiece.......2001-01-24

Once again, Paula Rasmussen delivers a hit. This mezzo-soprano has one of the best voices in the business. A must have for fans of classical, Orchestra and Opera.

Günter Wand Conducts Debussy and Mussorgsky

Average customer rating:

A technically transparent interpretation...
Clear Picture

Günter Wand Conducts Debussy and Mussorgsky

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004SSDQ
Release Date: 2000-05-16

Tracks:

The Court Of Lilies - NDR-Sinfonieorchester
Ecstatic Dance And Finale From The First Act - NDR-Sinfonieorchester
The Passion - NDR-Sinfonieorchester
The Good Shepherd - NDR-Sinfonieorchester
Promenade
Gnomus
Promenade
The Old Castle
Promenade
The Tuileries Garden
Bydlo
Promenade
Ballet Of The Unhatched Chicks
Samuel Goldenberg & Schmuyle
The Weekly Market Of Limoges
Catacombae, Sepulcrum Romanum
Con Mortuis In Lingua Mortua
The Hut On Fowl's Legs (Baba-Yaga)
The Great Gate Of Kiev

Customer Reviews:

A technically transparent interpretation..........2005-02-05

My main attraction to this issue was the inclusion of the rare
"Martyredom of Saint Sebastian" symphonic fragments. What I got was a lot more. The Germanic conductor Gunter Wand leads his Hamburg orchestra in detailed and vivid live performances. You don't get the sonic blockbuster approach on "Pictures". Wand conducts it as if he were performing Wagner, Bruckner, or Brahms. There is much attention to quality of sound and there is considerably less congestion in Ravel's orchestration usually found on the sonics at all cost versions. The "Martyredom" takes on an almost heavenly feel, though none of it's themes are really memorable. It is just a beautifully solemn piece. The program notes are more detailed than usual and state that these works have been life long favorites of Wand during his long low-keyed career. The Debussy piece dates back 1982 and the "Pictures" dates to 1999. Add a star if your in favor of totally live performances as the definitive way to go!

Clear Picture.......2000-06-16

Well defined sound stage for a Live performance, the Picture is clear but no loud as audiophile recording, u can hear every parts of his interpretation, you can hear a different Picture at the exhibition. I hope to Brucker Cycle can complete... very fine for most of Wand Live recording.

Average customer rating:

More Classic Cantelli

Guido Cantelli:The Debussy Recordings

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Anne Sofie von Otter - Grieg Songs
Claude Debussy: Préludes
Gustav Mahler: Symphonie No. 9
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas
Delius: Orchestral Works

ASIN: B000003XHU
Release Date: 1993-10-27

Tracks:

Trois Nocts: I. Nuages
Trois Nocts: II. Fetes
Prld A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
Le Martyre De Saint-Sebastien: I. La Cour De Lys (Prld)
Le Martyre De Saint-Sebastien: II. Danse Extatique Et Final, Acte 1
Le Martyre De Saint-Sebastien: III. La Passion
Le Martyre De Saint-Sebastien: IV. Le Bon Pasteur
La Mer: I. De L'Aube A Midi Sur La Mer
La Mer: II. Jeux De Vagues
La Mer: III. Dialogue Du Vent Et De La Mer

Amazon.com

There may be more atmospheric and individualized versions of these works in the catalog, but few that merge refinement of sonority, fidelity to the score, proportion, and impeccable taste to the degree that Guido Cantelli achieves here. EMI's early fifties mono engineering needs no disclaimer. One of the truly great orchestral recordings of all time. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

More Classic Cantelli.......2004-01-07

Had Guido Cantelli not died in an airplane crash in 1956 at the tender age of 36, he would undoubtedly be known today as one of the world's most famous conductors. As is, collectors regard him as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th Century, and these vintage EMI recordings, reissued by the Testament label, show why. "The Debussy Recordings" collects all of Cantelli's late mono performances of the composer's works with the Philharmonia Orchestra -- two of the three "Nocturnes" ("Nuages" and "Fetes," 8/55), "Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune" (6/54), the Fragments symphoniques from "Le Martyre de Saint-Sebastien" (6/54) and "La Mer" (9/55). Cantelli made a surprisingly large number of recordings for EMI in the early 1950s and most of them have been reissued at some point on CD (by both EMI and Testament), yet many of them are now out-of-print. Classical fans curious about Cantelli's considerable skills should pick up this title before it suffers a similar fate.

Debussy: La Mer; 2 Nocturnes; Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; etc.

Average customer rating:

Classic Cantelli Recycled

Debussy: La Mer; 2 Nocturnes; Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune; etc.

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pavanes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring; The Firebird Suite (1919)

ASIN: B00076ONPU
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Tracks:

Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
I. Nuages
II. Fetes
I. De L'Aube A Midi Sure La Mer
II. Jeux De Vagues
III. Dialogue Du Vent Et De La Mer
I. La Cour Des Lys (Prelude)
II. Danse Extatique Et Final Du Premier Acte
III. La Passion -
IV. Le Bon Pasteur
Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte

Customer Reviews:

Classic Cantelli Recycled.......2005-02-10

Generally, I've been a big fan of EMI's new "Great Artists of the Century" series (see my reviews of titles featuring Karajan, Menuhin, Boult, du Pre, Furtwangler, etc), but this title from the most recent batch of releases has left me scratching my head a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love Guido Cantelli -- a brilliant conductor taken from the world all too soon -- and his Debussy recordings featured here are among the very best ever made, despite being recorded in mono in the early 1950s. It's just that this exact material has been available for years via the UK's Testament label (the Debussy on SBT 1011 -- see my review -- and the Ravel on SBT 1017), as these performances were licensed to that company by EMI. Now it seems EMI is calling the flock home, as it begins to reissue under its own name many of the treasured historical recordings that ten years ago they wouldn't touch. I hope this doesn't spell doom for Testament, a wonderful company that has been satisfying classical connoisseurs for more than a decade. Of course, EMI can afford to price their reissues at midline while Testament must charge full price, presumably to make up for all the licensing fees they incur. So overall, I'm torn. I'm happy that great music is being disseminated to a larger audience at an affordable price, but I just hope it's not at the expense of the little guy.

Debussy: Jeux; Khamma; Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien

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Debussy: Jeux; Khamma; Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien
Conlon , and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
Manufacturer: Apex
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00007KI1D
Release Date: 2006-05-24

Music Track: