Samuel Barber (1910-1981) - Prayers of Kierkegaard, Opus 30

In 1953 Barber turned to the writings of the nineteenth-century philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, whose works he had long known and studied. When Barber accepted Koussevitzky's comission, Kierkegaard's religious views, presaging modern existentialism, were very much in the spirit of the times, Barber remarked: "His name was practically unknown in our country until the late 1930s, even though a Kierekgaard renaissance had been in full swing in Europe during the previous quarter of a century. Then in the decade after 1936 almost entire body of his writings appeared here. American readers soon became aware of Kierkegaard as a major literary figure and an exciting but enigmatic intellectual force. Interest in him was further stimulated after World War II by reports about his influence upon the leading Existentialists. Indeed the contemporary philosophers, Satre, Jaspers and Heidegger, have all paid tribute to the 'autumnal man'. Thus Kierkegaard's thought bacame a great force in our religious life even as it had become in Europe. It became the father of both the 'crisis theology' in Protestantism as well as of 'atheistic' Existentialism."

Barber selected prayers interpolated through Kierkegaard's writings and sermons written between 1847 and 1855. The music is rich and varied, beginning with a single thread of chant-like melody, that gives way to the full orchestra and chorus. A slow prayer for soprano solo over a square accompaniment - like the gentle rocking music from Knoxville: Summer of 1915 - also grows into music of contrapuntal richness. At the climax the orchestra continues alone with an almost savage intensity, then dissolves into a final broad chorale. The Prayers of Kierkegaard is one of the chief glories of Barber in his prime.

The CD was released by Koch International Classics, 1991, (DDD). Koch 3-7125-2H1.

Soprano: Sarah Reese
Baritone: Dale Duesing

The Chicago Symphony Chorus, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Conductor: Andrew Schenk

Track List:

Prayers of Kierkegaard, Opus 30 for Soprano Solo and Orchestra, with incidental Tenor Solo, Alto Solo Ad Libitum

1. O Thou who art unchangeable (grave and remote) (5'15")
2. Lord Jesus Christ who suffer'd (andante con moto tranquillo) (3'14")
3. Father in Heaven ( un poco mosso) (5'17")
4. Allegro molto (1'56")
5. Father in Heaven! (quietly) (3'34")

The Lovers (World Premiere Recording)

1. Body of a Woman (4'39")
2. Little girl, brown girl (2'00")
3. In the hot depth of this summer (2'44")
4. Close your eyes (4'05")
5. The Fortunate Isles (3'32")
6. Sometimes (0'38")
7. We have lost even this twilight (3'41")
8. Tonight I can write (5'38")
9. Cemetery of kisses (4'44")
   

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Missa Solemnis, Opus 123

The Missa Solemnis is Beethoven's second Mass, which he began 1817 and shaped into a monumental work that threatened to break out of the traditional dimensions of liturgical ceremony.

The outward occasion for the composition of the work was the enthronement of his illustrious pupil, Archduke Rudolph, as Archbishop of Olmütz (Olomouc). "The day on which as High Mass of mine is performed at the celebrations for Your Royal Highness will be the finest day of my life," he wrote to the Archduke in June 1819, "and God will give meHis light, so that my feeble powers contribute to the glorification of this festive day." But the work cast such a spell over Beethoven that it was not finished until two years after the enthronement, which took place on 20 March 1820.

The early sketches go back to the spring of 1890 and possibly even further, and are often to be found alongside sketches for the "Diabelli" Variations - about the time in which the last three piano sonatas were composed. Yet the finished work no longer shows any trace of the struggle which its composer had even over the smallest details - of the many attempts necessary, for example, to find the incomparable, lapidary final form in the four notes of the call in the Credo which could satisfy Beethoven's conception.

In his musical interpretation he not only followed the meaning of the individual sentences in the text of the Mass but even made a constant search for the most appropriate way of expressing individual words.

Ludwig van Beethoven

The following note, in his own hand, shows how Beethoven himself took his bearings: "To write church music, go through all the church chorales of the monks, etc., work out the sections in the most accurate translation with the perfect prosody of all the Christian psalms and hymns." There is, in fact, a whole series of notebooks in which Beethoven wrote out the German translation of the Latin text of the Mass word for word, partly with exact marks of scansion, i.e. noting the emphasised and unemphasised syllables for the correct declamation of the text. Writing to the Bonn publisher Simrock on 19 March 1821 about a translator who was to prepare a printed edition with German texts of the Mass, Beethoven remarked: " The translator is himself a musician, he is familiar with my own concepts of the Latin texts, and as a ready writer is capable, thank God, of producing a model." To be able to present a personal standpoint so decisively could only be the result of an intensive struggle over the problems of the text.

The first full performance of this Mass took place not in Vienna, but in St. Petersburg. It was arranged with the help of the friendly Prince Galitzin and the performance was given on 6 April 1824 by the Philharmonic Society there. During Beethoven's lifetime only three movements were performed in Vienna, the Kyrie, the Credo and the Agnus Dei. They were presented under the title of "Hymns" (in view of the severe regulations about the concert performances of church works) at the great Beethoven Academy on 7 May 1824.

The length of the work should not lead to the false conclusion that it was conceived for the concert hall rather than for the church. The Missa Solemnis was originally intended for the lengthy ceremony of the enthronement of a bishop, and in addition the extensive movements, the Gloria and Credo, belong in the setting of a full liturgical service, where they would have a less disruptive effect. Besides, unusual length is not a peculiarity of this Mass only: even earlier Beethoven had shortened his piano sonatas by whole movements on the advice of his friends, and later he was to do the same to his string quartets.

In a letter to Andreas Streicher of 16 September 1824 he makes clear that, in working on this great Mass, his deepest concern and chief intention had been "to arouse and establish permanent religious feeling in both the singers and the audience."

Anyone who has heard with attentive ears Beethoven's musical confession, on the texts of the Mass, in a work which he himself described as his greatest, will also understand the simple greatness of the words which stand at the head of the first page of the manuscript: "From the heart - may it go into the heart again".

The DCD was released by Philips, P 1971/C 1990, (ADD). Philips 426648-2.

Soprano: Agnes Giebel
Contralto: Marga Höffgen
Tenor: Ernst Haefliger
Bass: Karl Ridderbusch

Netherlands Radio Chorus, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam, Conductor: Eugen Jochum

Track List CD 1:

1. Kyrie Eleison (4'02")
2. Christe Eleison (1'45")
3. Kyrie Eleison (4'29")
4. Gloria in excelsis Deo (5'05")
5. Qui tollis peccata mundi (5'50")
6. Quoniam tu solus sanctus (1'24")
7. In gloria Dei Patris, Amen (5'19")
8. Credo in unum Deum (4'43")
9. Et incarnatus est (6'08")
10. Et ascendit in coelum (2'46")
11. Et vitam venturi saeculi (2'26")
12. Amen (4'37")

Track List CD 2:

1. Sanctus (3'03")
2. Pleni sunt couli (1'12")
3. Praeludium (2'01")
4. Benedictus (10'01")
5. Agnus Dei (6'28")
6. Dona nobis pacem (2'19")
7. Agnus Dei (6'58")
   

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Johannes-Passion, BWV 245 (St. John Passion), sung in German

Bach's St John Passion, one of Christendom's most venerated works of art, initially had the function of an "audition piece", a sort of musical visiting-card, as it were.

It was with this work that Bach presented his credentials to the Leipzig public on Good Friday, 1723: after a good deal of humiliating to-ing and fro-ing, he had just been appointed Kantor of St Thomas's Church. The composer then made changes and additions to the Passion for four more performances, which he directed himself.

With the St John Passion, Bach placed colossal and unaccustomed demands on his Leipzig audience, on his colleagues and superiors alike. He broke away from the ranks of reputable, traditionally-minded Kantors and aspired to the status of a fifth Evangelist.

Who knows whether the countless disagreements and squabbles that Bach - in no way an easy going or compliant man - was involved in during his years in Leipzig may not have been the result of this alarming first impression.

It is certainly no surprise that the new Thomaskantor was officially requested right at the outset of his employment in Leipzig not to make his church music "theatrical" in character. Curiously enough, this condition was even included in an agreement that the Leipzig city fathers signed with one of the greatest composers in the history of music - naturally without the least idea of what they were doing.

"Theatrical"? The entirely inappropriate word was surely the helpless attempt of some worried Leipzig councillor to rationalise the terror that Bach's immense expressive power struck into his contemporaries. For the St John Passion is certainly no meek and modest "handmaid of theology"; it is no restrained illustration of the Gospel account of the Passion, narrating the holy story with its eyes closed and piously underling important points. All this in undoubtedly part of the Musical setting of the Passion according to the Gospel of St. John.

But the music goes far beyond this, reproducing the immensity of the Passion anew from its own resources. Right at the beginning, in the first eighteen bars of the G minor introduction, the events of the Passion assume musical form, embodying all the pain and suffering of mankind. The chromatic lines of the oboes and flutes give eloquent voice to distress and grief, as does the oppressive onward surge of the semiquavers in the strings. In the course of the harmonic development, which unfolds with a dark urgency, menacing chasms appear, and even the clear G minor of the choral entry, finally reached after long-drawn-out torment, is unable to overcome these grim overtones. The original meaning of the word "passion" is evident in every note.

What's more, Bach does not adhere to the text "God our Lord, whose glory is resplendent in all lands" by composing a radiant glorification of our Lord God. On the contrary, a brooding melancholy pervades the entire movement, and the music seems to point less to specific emotions than to point the way across the abyss. Only reading between the lines do we find the self-assured mastery of the great composer who summoned up all his powers to do justice to the Passion of Our Lord and to show the people of Leipzig what he was capable of.

The St John Passion is split into two parts. The first of these comes to an end with the chorale "Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück". After this, the sermon was given in St Thomas's Church, Leipzig, and then followed the second part of the oratorio. The text follows the Gospel according to St John for the most part, but at a number of points of particular musical or dramatic significance, the Gospel according to St. Matthew is cited instead. To the Gospel texts are added the arias, in which the individual soul reflects on the account of the Evangelist, sung by a tenor. The chorales can be understood as the reaction of the Christian congregation. In accordance with an age-old tradition, the words of Jesus are not, as one might suppose, sung by a tenor, but by a bass. As far as the aria texts and the choice of chorales is concerned, Bach stuck to the Brockes Passion: Jesus, Who was martyred and died for the sins of mankind, which was very well-known in the 18th century. It is not possible to ascertain the precise extent of Bach's own contribution of the texts.

The St John Passion is about great events and great feelings: the modern-day listener who is prepared to listen attentively, who has the courage to open both mind and heart to Bach's sublime work, will benefit from it time and time again.

The DCD was released by Emi Classics, P 1962/C 1992, (ADD). Emi Classics CMS 7642342.

Evangelist: Fritz Wunderlich
Jesus: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Soprano Arias: Elisabeth Grümmer
Contralto Arias: Christa Ludwig
Tenor Arias: Josef Traxel
Bass Arias: Karl Christian Kohn
Pontius Pilatus: Karl Christian Kohn
Maid: Lisa Otto
Servant: Horst Schäfertöns

Chor der St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale Berlin, Berliner Symphoniker, Conductor: Karl Forster

Track List CD 1:

1. Part One: Chor: Herr, unser Herrscher (10'19")
2. Rezitativ: Jesus ging mit seinen Jüngern (1'16")
3. Chor: Jesum von Nazareth (0'12")
4. Rezitativ: Jesus spricht mit ihnen (0'43")
5. Chor: Jesum von Nazareth (0'11)
6. Rezitativ: Jesus antwortete (0'31")
7. Choral: O große Lieb (0'57")
8. Rezitativ: Auf dass das Wort erfüllet würde (1'25")
9. Choral: Dein Will gescheh (0'52")
10. Rezitativ: Die Schar aber und der Oberhauptmann (0'51")
11. Arie (Alto): Von den STricken meiner Sünden (5'36")
12. Rezitativ: Simon Petrus aber folgete (0'18")
13. Arie (Soprano): Ich folge dir gleichfalls (3'58")
14. Rezitativ: Derselbige Jünger (3'53")
15. Choral: Wer hat dich so geschlagen (1'53")
16. Rezitativ: Und Hannas sandte ihn gebunden (0'19")
17. Chor: Bist du nicht seiner Jünger einer? (0'29")
18. Rezitativ: Er leugnete aber (1'44")
19. Arie (Tenor): Ach, mein Sinn (3'18")
20. Choral: Petrus, der nicht denkt zurück (1'22")
21. Part Two: Choral: Christus, der uns selig macht (1'06")
22. Rezitativ: Da führeten sie Jesum (0'42")
23. Chor: Wäre dieser nicht ein Übeltäter (1'01")
24. Rezitativ: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihnen (0'14")
25. Chor: Wir dürfen niemanden töten (0'39")
26. Rezitativ: Auf dass erfüllet würde (2'15")
27. Choral: Ach, großer König (1'26")
28. Rezitativ: Da sprach Pilatus zu ihm (1'38")
29. Chor: Nicht diesen, sondern Barrabam (0'11")
30. Rezitativ: Barrabas aber war ein Mörder (0'29")
31. Arioso (Bass): Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken (8'11")

Track List CD 2:

1. Rezitativ: Und die Kriegsknechte flochten (0'18")
2. Chor: Sei gegrüßet, lieber Judenkönig (0'37")
3. Rezitativ: Und gaben ihm Backenstreiche (1'00")
4. Chor: Kreizige, kreuzige (0'53")
5. Rezitativ: Pilatus sprach zu ihnen (0'18")
6. Chor: Wir haben ein Gesetz (1'21")
7. Rezitativ: Da Pilatus das Wort (1'31")
8. Choral: Durch dein Gefängnis (0'58")
9. Rezitativ: Die Juden aber schrieen (0'05")
10. Chor: Lässest du diesen los (1'10")
11. Rezitativ: Da Pilatus das Wort hörete (0'48")
12. Chor: Weg, weg mit dem, kreuzige ihn (0'57")
13. Rezitativ: Spricht Pilatus zu ihnen (0'16")
14. Chor: Wir haben keinen König (0'13")
15. Rezitativ: Da überantwortete er ihn ((0'56")
16. Arie (Bass): Eilet, ihr angefocht'nen Seelen (4'46")
17. Rezitativ: Allda kreuzigten sie ihn (1'27")
18. Chor: Schreibe nicht: der Juden König (0'36")
19. Rezitativ: Pilatus antwortet (0'17")
20. Choral: In meines Herzens Grunde (0'57")
21. Rezitativ: Die Kriegsknechte (0'36")
22. Chor:Lasset uns den nicht zerteilen (2'00")
23. Rezitativ: Auf dass erfüllet würde (1'52")
24. Choral: Er nahm alles wohl in acht (1'07")
25. Rezitativ: Und von Stund an (1'30")
26. Arie (Alto): Es ist vollbracht - der Held aus Juda (6'13")
27. Rezitativ: Und neigte das Haupt und verschied (0'29")
28. Arie (Bass): Mein teurer Heiland (4'35")
29. Rezitativ: Und siehe da, der Vorhang im Tempel (0'30")
30. Arioso (Tenor): Mein Herz, in dem die ganze Welt (1'04")
31. Arie (Soprano): Zerfließe, meine Herze (6'32")
32. Rezitativ: Die Juden aber (2'26")
33. Choral: O hilf, Christe, Gottes Sohn (1'08")
34. Rezitativ: Darnach bat Pilatum (2'36")
35. Chor: Ruht wohl, ihr heiligen Gebeine (7'26")
36. Choral: Ach Herr, lass dein lieb' Engelein (2'13")
    

Bach/Gounod - Ave Maria; Bizet - Agnus Dei sung by Benjamino Gigli

Beniamino Gigli, (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations. Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent that he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music. (from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamino_Gigli)

Here are two sacred songs sung by the Italian opera singer Benjamino Gigli: a-side: Ave Maria (by Bach/Gounod), b-side: Agnus Dei (by Georges Bizet).

The rare shellac record (78 rpm) was ripped and digitally restored using a 192 kbit/sec mp3 encoding.

download a-side: Ave Maria/Benjamino Gigli
download b-side: Agnus Dei/Benjamino Gigli

Anton Bruckner (1824-1896) - Mass in F Minor

Anton Bruckner way already forty years of age when the premiere of his D minor Mass at the Cathedral of Linz in 1864 marked his rise to a fame which would grow further. Taking two years for each, Bruckner composed other masses, the second in E minor of 1866 and then the third in F minor, which was commissioned by the Imperial court following a successful performance of the D minor Mass at the chapel of the Hofburg in Vienna on February 10, 1867. Bruckner began work on the F minor Mass on September 14 (against the advice of doctors treating his emotional disturbance) and completed it on September 9, 1868.

Important events in Bruckner's life coincided with its composition. His beloved teacher Simon Sechter died on September 10, 1867. For all his grief, Bruckner had the presence of mind to apply for the position at the Imperial court that had fallen vacant at Sechter's death. He was appointed professor for organ, thoroughbass and counterpoint at the Vienna Conservatory as of October 1, 1868, and during that same September for the post of organist at the Imperial chapel.

These events finally made his move from Linz to Vienna necessary. As choirmaster of the Vienna choral society "Frohsinn", he conducted the concert premiere of the closing scene of "Meistersinger" on April 4, 1868 and attended the premiere of the opera at the Hoftheater in Munich on June 21. In between all this he premiered his First Symphony in Linz on May 9.

For Bruckner things were moving slowly but steadily forward. Bruckner felt no further inclination to go on composing masses since his creative energies were increasingly directed toward symphonic writing, a field in which he found he could more meaningfully express his own view of the world in terms of absolute music. All three masses were radically revised by Bruckner in hte summer of 1876; the F minor Mass was also subjected to further corrections during a period stretching between at least 1890 and 1893 in preparation for its publication by Josef Eberle & Co.

The succesful premiere under the baton of the composer on June 16, 1872 at the Augustinerkirche inVienna ensured at least half a dozen repeat performances in the ensuing twelve years, among which was the second performance at the Hofburg on December 3, 1873 - an event of particular importance for the composer - and the performance on April 27, 1879 at the garrison church of the fort of Ofen, which was one of the few early Bruckner performances during the 1870s to be given outside Linz and Vienna, where the composer was a known quantity.

The F minor Mass follows the customary six-part structure necessitated by the liturgy. The Credo is however disproportionately lengthy, making it comparable with the thundering Te Deum of 1883, while the ensuing Sanctus lasts but two minutes.

The CD was released by Berlin Classics, 1997, (DDD). Berlin Classics 0092472BC.

Soprano: Magdalena Hajossyova
Alto: Rosemarie Lang
Tenor: Andreas Schmidt
Bass: Hermann Christian Polster

Rundfunkchor Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Conductor: Heinz Rögner

Track List:

1. Kyrie (8'49")
2. Gloria in excelsis (3'09")
3. Qui tollis (3'06")
4. Quoniam tu solus sanctus (2'13")
5. In Gloria Dei Patris (3'14")
6. Credo in unum Deum (2'11)
7. Et incarnatus est (2'55")
8. Crucifixus (2'41")
9. Et resurrexit (4'24")
10. Et in spiritum sanctum (2'28")
11. Et expecto (0'40")
12. Et vitam venturi (2'49")
13. Sanctus (1'16")
14. Hosanna in excelsis (0'40")
15. Benedictus (5'52")
16. Hosanna in excelsis (0'43")
17. Agnus Dei (4'421")
18. Dona nobis pacem (3'52")
    

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - Davidde Penitente, KV 469/Missa Solemnis, KV 337

In 1785 Mozart was at the very pinnacle of his fame. He was weighed down with comissions for new compositions and in constant demand to appear at countless concerts.

When the Viennese Tonkünstler-Societät (founded in 1771 to assist the widows and orphans of musicians) invited him to compose an anthem for one of its benefit concerts, he was obliged to decline through lack of time.

Anxious, however, to maintain the good relations that he had enjoyed with the Society, he suddenly hit on the brilliant idea of using music written for the Kyrie and Gloria of his Mass in C minor (KV 427), turing them into the opening sections of an impressive oratorio and providing a perfect answer to the comission that had been offered to him. Thus Viennese audiences were able to make the aquaintance of a new masterpiece and hear the magisterial music of an unfinished Mass which - had circumstances been different - Mozart would probably never have written for the city.



In composing Davidde Penitente, Mozart used an Italian text adapted to fit the original music of the Kyrie and Gloria. It is believed, albeit without certainty, that the author of these words (which paraphrase the Psalms of David) was Leonardo Da Ponte. Mozart evidently worked at some speed, not even having time to prepare a new copy of the score for himself; one of the tasks that the copyists had to undertake was to add the text at various points beneath the exisiting notes.

In order to ensure that this large-scale oratorio would be worthy of his name, Mozart added two arias (No 6 and 8), together with the famous cadenza for the three soloists in the final chorus. Each of the soloists thus had his or her own aria, and the work acquired the minimum length required by the Tonkünstler-Societät. The four-, five- and eigth-part choruses are of a beauty already amply attested by the earlier Mass in C Minor. Since the orchestral parts had still to be copied, it must be a matter of some speculation how this performance actually went.

Gossec's influence - he was Mozart's great friend during the 1760s - is clearly discernible in the C minor Mass and hence also in Davidde Penitente. In his comparative study of Mozart's Requiem and Gossec's Messe des Morts, the Viennese musicologist Hartmut Krones has shown how many of Gossec's musical ideas have found their way into Mozart's C minor Mass. Thus, for example, the opening theme of the fugal "Et lux perpetua" from Gossec's Mass recurs, note for note, in the "Kyrie Eleison" of Mozart's Mass (and also to the words "Alzai le flebili voci" in Davidde Penitente), while another of Gossec's themes, "Cum Sanctis tui in aeternam", is rediscovered intact supporting the words "Cum sancto spiritu" in the C minor Mass, only to be heard again in the large-scale chorus "Di tai pericoli non ha timor" that brings Davidde Pentitente to its fitting conclusion.

The Missa Solemnis is a typical example of the kind of Missa Brevis that Haydn, Mozart and other composers were writing at this time.

The Mass is cheerful and light-hearted, but the "Benedictus" remains a mystery: built around an austere, academic, even refractory fugue, the music is in flagrant opposition to the words "Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord". Was Mozart trying to express his discontent at the behaviour of his employer Archbishop Colloredo? Mozart quarreled with his patron Colloredo in 1780 and decided to turn his back on him.

The CD was released by Erato, 1990, (DDD). Erato 2292-45498-2.

Soprano: Bernadette Degelin
Soprano: Jennifer Smith
Countertenor: Peter Ickx
Tenor: Guy de Mey
Baritone: Jan Vandercrabben

Choeur De Chambre De Namur, Musica Polyphonica, Conductor: Louis Devos

Track List:

Davidde Penitente, KV 469

1. Coro: Alzai le flebili voci Signor (6'03")
2. Coro: Cantiam le glorie (2'16")
3. Aria Soprano II: Lungi le cure ingrate (4'58")
4. Coro: Sii pur sempre benigno (1'58")
5. Duetto soprani I&II: Sorgi, o Signore (2'47")
6. Aria tenore: A te, fra tanti affani (6'27")
7. Coro: Se vuoi, puniscimi (3'34")
8. Aria Soprano I: Tra l'oscure ombre funeste (6'18")
9. Terzetto Soprani I&II: Tutte le mie speranze (4'23")
10. Coro: Chi in Dio sol spera (5'31")

Missa Solemnis, KV 337

1. Kyrie (2'22)
2. Gloria (3'29")
3. Credo (5'04")
4. Sanctus (1'43")
5. Benedictus (2'33")
6. Agnus Dei (5'07")
   

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) - Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien (The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian)

In 1884, the 22-year-old Debussy had won the Prix de Rome with his cantata L'Enfant prodigue, and among the official works which he produced during his four sponsored years, La Damoiselle élue was the most original, bringing the name of Debussy clearly to the notice of the musical public in Paris when it was performed at the Société Nationale in April 1893.

Much later , in 1911, the influence of Parsifal returned - but this time closely assimilated into the real Debussy style - when at short notice he wrote incidental music for Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien. This was an extravagant five-hour theatrical production - a Mystère or miracle play, combining drama, dancing, elaborate stage effects, and music (soloists, chorus, and orchestra).

The play was by the exiled Italian author Gabriele D'Annunzio; and, controversially, the Jewish dancer Ida Rubinstein took the role of the Saint - a young officer of the Praetorian guards in the third century, ordered by Diocletian to be killed by his own archers because of his sympathy for persecuted Christians. Christian and pagan images come together in vivid scenes which range from tenderness to extreme violence.

In its original form it was not a success when produced in Paris in 1911; but attempts have been made to revive it in various modified forms - in particular, a version using Debussy's incidental music linked by narration has proved successful in the concert hall. Also, with the collaboration of Debussy's friend André Caplet, a suite of four "Symphonic Fragments" was made.

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

The first of these is from Act I, "The Court of Lilies": after a solemn liturgical-sounding prelude, the scene is set in rich and sad melodic style, for the torture and martyrdom of two young Christians. The next, also from Act I, is the "Ecstatic Dance" of Sebastian on live coals, as (after a sign from heaven) he is inspired to help the persecuted Christians - a section both fierce and sensitive, orchestrated with much colour and variety, ending with music accompanying a miracle and a heavenly vision. The third fragment is the poignant music of "The Passion" from Act IV - Sebastian's masochistic expectation of martyrdom, welcoming the arrows from his own archers. And in the final excerpt, the atmospheric music accompanies a scene among the ancient laurels of Apollo's Grove, the place of Sebastian's martyrdom, when the saint has a brief vision of "The Good Shepherd" and the sacrificial lamb.

The CD was released by Sony Classical, 1994, (DDD). SK 58952.

Soprano: Dawn Upshaw
Mezzo-Soprano: Paula Rasmussen

Women of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Conductor: Esa-Pekka Salonen

Track List:

1. NOCTURNES: 1. Nuages (7'09")
2. Fetes (&'29")
3. Sirènes (10'14")
4. La Damoiselle élue (poème lyrique d'après Dante Gabriele Rossetti) (20'14")
5. LE MARTYRE DE SAINT SÉBASTIEN: I. La Cour des Lys. Prélude. (3'51")
6. II. Danse extatique et Finale du 1er Acte (5'52")
7. III. La Passion (5'52")
8. IV. Le Bon Pasteur (6'52")