BaL 9.07.11 - Bizet: L'Arlesienne

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library - David Nice recommends a recording of Bizet's L'Arlesienne

Available versions:
Zoch/Westphal/Pietschmann, Kolner Rundfunkorchester, Helmuth Froschauer
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Gerhardt
Orchestre Capitole de Toulouse. Plasson
Les Musiciens du Louvre; Choeur de l'opéra de Lyon, Marc Minkowski
Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon, John Eliot Gardiner

Is that it? Not quite. There are numerous recordings of the two L'Arlesienne Suites:

Suite no. 1
Cincinnata SO, Lopez-Cobos
Halle, Barbirolli
Melbourne SO, Lanchberry

Suites 1 & 2
Ungarisches Staatorchester, Edlinger
BPO, Karajan
Stokowski SO, Stokowski
ASMF, Marriner
Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Pons
Suisse Romande, Ansermet
LSO, Wordsworth
LSO, Abbado
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Rögner
Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Lombard
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert Kegel
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Stokowski
Ulster Orchestra, Yan Pascal Tortelier
Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona I Nacional de Catalunya, Serebrier
RPO, Beecham
Lamoureux Concert Orchestra, Markevitch
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rogner
Orquestra Filarmonica de Mexico, Batiz
Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Charles Dutoit
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Anthony Bramall
Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française, André Cluytens

Severus (piano)
Apkalna (organ)

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

My favourite and - I suspect - a frontrunner:
Les Musiciens du Louvre; Choeur de l'opéra de Lyon/ Marc Minkowski on Naive

This contains more than just the familiar suites, with various entr'actes and melodramas. I'm assuming there will be a recommendation for the two suites as well.

[DoctorT]

I agree, IGI. Beautiful saxophone playing (and the disc is nicely packaged too).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My favourite and - I suspect - a frontrunner:
Les Musiciens du Louvre; Choeur de l'opéra de Lyon/ Marc Minkowski on Naive

Thanks for that. I've not heard of this one, but I've added it to the list.
There may well be a recommendation for the suites. I shall have to add these shortly.

[BBMmk2]

That Minkowski does look rather favourable!! I have the Suites by Tommy Beecham! ah asnd ofcourse Black Dyke Band on Naxos!

[Rolmill]

I have a recording by the Consort of London under Robert Haydon Clark, released on Collins in 1990 - nicely played but not especially memorable, I presume it is nla. It's described as the "complete original version" of the overture and incidental music (comes to about 42 minutes), but there are no liner notes to explain the description - are there multiple versions of L'Arlesienne (apart from the well-known suites of course)?

I remember the Minkowski being very well reviewed in Gramophone when it came out.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I have a recording by the Consort of London under Robert Haydon Clark, released on Collins in 1990 - nicely played but not especially memorable, I presume it is nla.

It's available second hand from Amazon

I've now amended the list to include recordings of the suites.

[verismissimo]

I gather from his blog that David Nice will spend most time on the two suites. I've only ever known the second of them, which I've had for a long time played by BPO/Karajan.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Enjoy this BaL. There isn't one on the following Saturday as Building a Library is taking its annual summer break.

[LeMartinPecheur]

By featuring L'Arlesienne the run of BaLs surely ends with a whimper not a bang, whatever the quality of Nice's contribution. The small number of posts here surely suggests that CD shops aren't going to make much from the rush of purchases after the show.

I shall listen with (mild) interest hoping to be enthused, but I've survived pretty well for 30+ years on the occasional radio broadcast of this music, and have never felt any huge desire to own it. Come to think of it I'm not sure I've got either of the Carmen suites, though I do own and love the opera. The Symphony in C goes down very nicely too, and would surely have made a better choice for this BaL.

[PS Ooops, the groaning shelves (Anthologies-alpahabetical-by-conductor section) have coughed up a BBC Legends disc of Beecham doing the first suite plus two items from the 2nd. That's probably enough to keep me happy!]

[Roslynmuse]

I bought the Beecham LP of the two suites (plus the first Carmen Suite) in its 1979 incarnation (and the subsequent CD reissue with the Symphony instead) - lovely performances of music that I always think has great innocence and plangency.

Has anyone read the play?

Daudet is an obsession of Julian Barnes and Barnes' translation of Daudet's account of his physical disintegration is very moving.

[verismissimo]

Whatever happened to Bizet's one act opera, Djamileh, that it should disappear from the repertoire? So beloved (and frequently conducted) by Mahler.

[MickyD]

There was also a version from Hogwood and the St Paul's Chamber Orchestra released in the 90s by Decca, featuring a chamber-sized performance.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Whatever happened to Bizet's one act opera, Djamileh, that it should disappear from the repertoire? So beloved (and frequently conducted) by Mahler.

Opera North did this a few years ago in a series of short operas that included Rachmaninov's Francesca di Rimini.
I agree that Djamileh does not deserve neglect.

[vinteuil]

Daudet is an obsession of Julian Barnes and Barnes' translation of Daudet's account of his physical disintegration is very moving.

Yes - I know of no other work so unsparing in its honesty about pain. Much recommended - and Barnes's translation of la Doulou ["In the Land of Pain"] is very good.