Plk C'est Mort

Hector Berlioz: Harold en Italie, Op. 16; La mort de Cléopâtre, scène lyrique
William Lincer, viola; Jennie Tourel mezzo-soprano; New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein
Classical | 1 CD | EAC Rip | 346 MB; 3% Recovery| FLAC+LOG+Cue | Full scans | RS + 4shared links
Publisher: Sony Classical | Recorded: 1961 | Published: 1999

Harold is an electrifying reading that captures the raw passion of Berlioz better than any other. Throwing caution to the winds, Bernstein and Linzer (the Philharmonic's first-chair violist) are rough, edgy and incredibly exciting, eschewing entirely the refinement that passes for idiomatic Berlioz in other hands. Inexplicably omitted from the Royal Edition, this is one of the truly great Bernstein performances, giving Berlioz, the wild rebel of his time, his full due. It took a musician of Bernstein's youthful boldness to defy our established tradition to restore the composer's essential spirit. (Cleopatre, already in the Royal set, is a wonderful performance of Berlioz's early cantata.) - by Peter Gutmann

Live album recorded during the first « Gong reunion » in May 28, 1977 in Hippodrome de Pantin (Paris), organised by Jacques Pasquier. The classic Gong line-up with founder Daevid Allen didn’t exist anymore at this date, but reconvened for this event, which also featured all bands formed by ex or current Gong members : Daevid Allen with Euterpe, Didier Malherbe’s Bloom, the « official » Gong led by Pierre Moerlen, Mike Howlett’s Strontium 90, Tim Blake’s Crystal Machine, Steve Hillage’s band etc…

This is a delightful recording from a conductor more closely allied than any other to Berlioz's music. With Berlioz the devil is always in the detail; he was an extraordinary orchestrator and capable of writing unidiomatically for instruments–especially the woodwinds–in order to get exactly the sound he wanted. Or rather, sounds, for the whole texture is made up of many layers. Davis understands this as if by instinct, and draws some beautiful playing from the instrumentalists without ever losing sight of the whole picture. It has been said that the French style of phrasing is all foreplay and no climax: the singers bring this teasing quality to their long, flowing lines but with a charmingly English home-counties blush too. Elsie Moris's light tone is a perfect match for Peter Pears' cool, silvery voice in this respect - and the choir too makes a good full sound without ever getting too heavy. The two discs also include some other gems from the pen of this most idiosyncratic of composers.

Berlioz's Les nuits d'été has received some outstanding recordings over the years, prime among them those by Regine Crespin and Victoria de los Angeles. Here's a new one by Véronique Gens that belongs in their rarefied category. That should come as no surprise to admirers of her terrific Handel and French song discs. She sings with a light but expressive soprano that's fetching in itself and flexible enough to darken tones and lend emotional weight to the texts where called for. Her diction is impeccable, and the orchestral support is first-rate. The remainder of the disc is as good. The long dramatic scene, La mort de Cléopatre, is stunningly sung and played, Gens projecting the plight of the dejected queen with great intensity and vocal beauty. The three orchestral songs sparkle in Gens's renditions. The final one, "Zaïde," with its castanets and vivacious singing, will force you to keep hitting the repeat button. An unqualified recommendation!

Le Bal Du Rat Mort (The Dead Rat's Ball) is released in December 1971 and 2000 copies are sold. This release did not exhibit the true face of the band, but it did however show their talent as musicians and as composers and ability to combine different influences. This album is a mixture of rock, free-jazz, fusion, folk, oldies tunes, chanson Francaise and a general theatrical and quirky approach to composing. The overall result is a well-done mixture of styles and atmospheres. This may not be groundbreaking but it is different than the average output of French bands at that time and can be seen as avant-garde in their musical approach in this album.

Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! was the third album released as part of Michael Cretu's Enigma project. It's style built on and extended the first two releases, offering a well-crafted album with mysterious sounds, original ideas, and philosophical lyrics. The title is French and translates to "The King Is Dead, Long Live The King", foreshadowing some of the texts contained within. The most recognized song from this release was Beyond The Invisible, though Michael Cretu has stated that his favorite track on the album is actually Morphing Thru Time.