RAVEL Orchestral Works, Vol. 5 – Antar (incidental music after N. Rimsky-Korsakov – World Premiere Recording), Shéhérazade

Maurice RAVEL Orchestral Works, Vol. 5

Antar – incidental music (After N. Rimsky-Korsakov) (1910) Text by Amin Maaloif (2014)
World Premiere Recording

Shéhérazade

André Dussolier (narrator – 1), Isabelle Druet (mezzo-soprano – 2)

Orchestre National de Lyon, Leonard Slatkin

Label: Naxos – 8.573448
Barcode: 747313344871
Format: CD Country: Germany
Released: Apr 13, 2017
Genre: Classical
Style: Impressionist, Modern Antar

Maurice RAVEL
Incidental Music After Works By Rimsky-Korsakov (1910) Text by Amin Maalouf (53:33)
1 No. 1 Rimsky-Korsakov: Antar, 1st Movement: Largo – Allegro Giocoso – Furioso – Allegretto Vivace – Adagio – Allegretto Vivace – Largo “Le Désert N’est Pas Vide…” 11:09
2 No. 1 Bis. Ravel: Allegro 0:35
3 No. 2 . Ravel: Cadenza Ad Libitum “En Ce Temps-là…” 1:38
4 No. 3. Ravel: Allegretto : “Sa Mère, Zébiba…” 0:53
5 No. 5. Ravel: Allargando “Sa Renommée Grandissait Avec Lui…” 0:32
6 No. 6. Rimsky-Korsakov: Antar, 4th Movement, From Letter C To The End (Andante Amoroso – Animato Assai – Accelerando Assai – Tempo I) “Un Jour, Il Fut Convoqué Par Son Père…” 6:20
7 No. 7. Ravel: Allegretto 1:10
8 No. 8. Ravel: Andante “Cette Bataille…” 0:46
9 No. 9. Ravel: Allegro – Quaso Presto – Lent “Ses Poèmes L’ont Rendu Célèbre…” 2:22
10 No. 10. Ravel: Allegro 0:43
11 No. 11. Rimsky-Korsakov: Antar, 3rd Movement (Allegro Risoluto Alla Marcia) 5:24
12 No. 11 Bis. Ravel: Allegro, Rythmé “C’était Une Journée En Apparence Paisible…” 1:33
13 No. 12. Ravel: Allegro Moderato – Più Mosso “Antar N’écoutait Plus…” 1:59
14 No. 13. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scene At Mount Triglav From Act III Of Mlada (Andantino) “Puis Il y Eut Encore Une Bataille…” 7:28
15 No. 14. Rimsky-Korsakov: Antar, 2nd Movement (Allegro – Molto Allegro – Allegro – Molto Allegro – Poco Meno Mosso – Molto Allegro) “En Atteignant la Plaine…” 7:31
16 No. 16. Ravel: Andante “C’était Le Crépuscule…” 3:29

Shéhérazade (1903) (17:14)
17 I. Asie 10:03
18 II. La Flûte Enchantée 3:05
19 III. L’Indifférent 4:06

Mezzo-soprano – Isabelle Druet (tracks: 17 to 19)
Narrator – André Dussollier (tracks: 1 to 16)
Orchestre National De Lyon

Playing Time 70:47

Comes in a standard clear jewel case and includes a 20-page booklet with liner notes in English and French, along with the complete text of Antar (written by French librettist Amin Maalouf in 2014)

Recorded live at the Auditorium de Lyon, France, from 11th to 14th June, 2014 (tracks 1 – 16), and on 2nd and 3rd September 2014 (tracks 17 – 19)
Made in Germany

The impact of Russian and Oriental culture on Ravel’s formative years retained a hold on him throughout his life. His colourfully re-orchestrated selections from Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic suite ‘Antar’ and opera Mlada, with interpolations of his own music, as the incidental score for a theatre production are heard here in their première recording, revived and reconstructed alongside a new text that symbolizes the romance and chivalric spirit of Antar the warrior-poet and his beloved Abla. Ravel’s fascination with the exotic is brought together with Debussy’s influence in the ravishing and enduringly popular song cycle Shéhérazade.