Denne er en tilsnigelse, da den først er bestilt i dag. Det er en lækker nyhed til Stravinsky fans, det er temmelig fantastisk vokalmusik – og Les Noces er et favoritstykke i mere end 40 år. Baseret på gammel russisk bryllupsmusik som Stravinsky oversætter på sin måde i en særdeles uvanlig klang og rytme.
Mesterlig – kan ikke vente
STRAVINSKY Les Noces, Mass, Cantata. Carolyn Sampson, Susan Parry, Jan Kobow, Vsevolod Grivnov, Maxim Mikhailov, RIAS-Kammerchor, MusikFabrik, Ensemble fur Neue Musik / Daniel Reuss. Harmonia Mundi SACD
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Les Noces, Mass, Cantata
Carolyn Sampson, Susan Parry, Jan Kobow, Vsevolod Grivnov, Maxim Mikhailov,
RIAS-Kammerchor, MusikFabrik, Ensemble für Neue Musik / Daniel Reuss
Igor Stravinsky is incontestably one of the most important figures of the twentieth century. He has never ceased to arouse the liveliest of reactions, whether positive or negative.
The extraordinary rhythmic power of Les Noces is in many respects descended from The Rite of Spring, now an integral part of our musical life. The works presented on this CD, on the other hand, remain more or less outside the customary repertoire. A production of Les Noces, whether recorded or in concert, is still an exceedingly rare and welcome event for the music-lover. As for hearing the Mass, or the Cantata, there is virtually no other option than to have recourse to the few, sometimes elderly recordings, conducted either by the composer himself, or Robert Craft.
Composed between 1944 and 1948, the Mass was not written in response to any commission, but testifies to Stravinsky's profound faith and his respect for the Roman Catholic liturgy - the Orthodox Church, to which he belonged, proscribed the use of instruments to accompany religious music.
The Cantata, composed in 1951-2, is separated from the Mass by just one work, the opera The Rake's Progress. It was also in this period that he discovered the music of the Second Viennese School. Unlike the Mass, the Cantata is intended for presentation not in a religious context but in the setting of a public concert. However, saddled with a reputation for austerity and difficulty, it has been very little performed and rarely recorded. The vocal virtuosity of certain sections, such as the 165 bars of Ricercar II ('Tomorrow shall be my dancing day') sung by the tenor solo virtually without interruption, and its considerable length of around 30 minutes place special demands on both performers and listeners.
A tribute to Stravinsky at his finest, from the combined talents of the RIAS Kammerchor and a line-up of world-class soloists. No competition this coupling and no other complete recording of the Cantata.
Harmonia Mundi SACD HMC801913
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Antastisk billede, gurdet... 
