The Paris Pieces

Antonio Vivaldi - The French Connection Vol. 2
La Serenissima / Adrian Chandler
EAC+LOG+CUE | WV: 367 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Avie # AV2218 | Country/Year: UK 2011
Genre: Classical | Style: Baroque

…the concept of this disc, the choice of music and the performances make this an interesting contribution to the growing Vivaldi discography.

Jean Roger-Ducasse was born in Bordeaux on 18 April 1873. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1892 and in 1895, along with Ravel, joined the composition class of Gabriel Faure. In 1902 he won the second Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata Alcyone, with Ravel gaining fourth prize. He had a very active role in musical life in Paris founding the Societe Musicale Independante in 1909 and gaining the position of inspector general for the teaching of singing in Paris schools in 1910.

The work of Louis Vierne, organist at Notre-Dame de Paris and master of the symphonic instrument, is reflected here in all its rich variety: from the poetic Pièces en style libre – in previously unissued recordings appearing here for the very first time – to his final masterpiece, the monumental Sixth Symphony, via the virtuosic and world-famous Pièces de fantaisie. All are performed here on the little-recorded instrument of the Parisian church of Saint-François-Xavier by its organist Gaston Litaize, who studied with Vierne and went on to become a prolific composer himself. The recordings have been remastered in 24-bit/192kHz sound from the original tapes.

Chandos exclusive artist Michael Collins here presents the second volume in his series designed to display the extraordinarily wide range of music written for the clarinet. Volume 1 was BBC Music Magazine Editor’s Choice and received IRR Outstanding from International Record Review, which stated: ‘It is difficult to imagine a finer performance than is given here.’ Debussy’s Première Rhapsodie was written as a test piece for the Paris Conservatoire and contrasts long lyrical lines with capricious acrobatics for the clarinet, being described by the composer as ‘hovering between reverie and scherzo’.

Callas… Toujours (1958)
French/Italian | Subtitle: It/Fr/En/De/Jp | 1:31 | 720 x 480 | NTSC | 16:9 | 29.97fps | MPEG-2 | LPCM mono | 48kHz
Genre : Classical/Concert | With Cover & Booklet scans
Publisher: EMI

It is a pity that so few recordings of Maria Callas in concert exist to leave the testimony of this genius of the singing and actor's play that she was. Only 5 recitals have been filmed (Paris 1958, Hamburg 1959 and 1962, Covent Garden 1962 and 1964), recorded on 3 DVD. Here is the first one of them (and maybe the best), Paris 1958.
I will upload the two others later on.

That Evening, Callas was to sing in Paris for the first time! We knew she had the vocal genius of a great Diva as well as the rages and outbursts expected of one. Regular opera-goers knew of her but she was unknown to most people. And that very evening, she was about to be revealed to them….. What an unforgettable evening! Three hours earlier, Callas had just been a Diva; at midnight she became a star for millions of viewers. It was a triumph for Callas and also for television because that emotion of years ago can still be felt today. Callas is present among us. For ever.