Prom 7: 20.07.16 - Faure, Stravinsky and Poulenc

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

19:30 Wednesday 20 Jul 2016
Royal Albert Hall

Gabriel Fauré: Shylock
Igor Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite
Francis Poulenc: Stabat Mater

Julie Fuchs, soprano
Julien Behr, tenor
BBC Singers
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Marc Minkowski conductor

Paris was at the centre of the quest for new clarity and order in music around the start of the 20th century, and tonight's Prom presents some of the most delicious fruits of that quest. Our Shakespeare anniversary celebrations continue with a suite drawn from Fauré's incidental music for The Merchant of Venice.
In his ballet score Pulcinella, Stravinsky dusted down Baroque melodies then believed to be by Pergolesi, lending them an ear-teasing bite.
Spare simplicity and urbane wit usually meet in the works of Poulenc; but in his Stabat mater - a portrait of the mother of Christ beholding her crucified son - Poulenc finds a mode of disarming tenderness and contemplation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jmt98

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07jm3n8 (repeat)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Pulcinella - one of my favourite works for nearly half a century, and I've never had a recording of it!

Potentially a decent concert - with just one reservation.

[Pulcinella]

Pulcinella - one of my favourite works for nearly half a century, and I've never had a recording of it!

Shame on you, alpie!

Potentially a decent concert - with just one reservation.

Indeed, and the added detraction that I have mentioned elsewhere that the timing is short, and would have enabled a performance of complete Pulcinella, with just one more soloist.

[cloughie]

Shame on you, alpie!



Indeed, and the added detraction that I have mentioned elsewhere that the timing is short, and would have enabled a performance of complete Pulcinella, with just one more soloist.

Pulc have you got as many recordings of your pseudonym as Alps has of his? That is if there are that many - Suite or complete!

[Pulcinella]

Pulc have you got as many recordings of your pseudonym as Alps has of his? That is if there are that many - Suite or complete!

Oh, I'm not in the starting class on that front!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Shame on you, alpie!

I shall remedy the deficiency very soon, perhaps with your guidance?

Indeed, and the added detraction that I have mentioned elsewhere that the timing is short, and would have enabled a performance of complete Pulcinella, with just one more soloist.

[Pulcinella]

I shall remedy the deficiency very soon, perhaps with your guidance?

Well, I should have seen that one coming!

I have nowhere near as many versions as you might think.

Complete
LSO/Abbado
OSR/Ansermet
ONF/Boulez
RCO/Chailly
CLS/Hickox
Northern Sinfonia/Rattle
Bournemouth Sinfonietta/Sanderling
Cleveland/Stravinsky
Columbia/Stravinsky

Suite
OSR/Ansermet
NYPO/Bernstein
NYPO/Boulez
ASMF/Marriner
Columbia/Stravinsky

If pushed for a preference from those in my collection (and I haven't done a comparative review as such) I would go for Abbado or, if you want to avoid likely duplication of the couplings with works you already have, the bargain Naxos Sanderling, with a young Ian Bostridge as the tenor soloist, for the complete work, and either Amsermet (probably the first version I had on LP, as an Ace of diamonds release!) or Stravinsky for the suite.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

That's great. Thanks.

[jayne lee wilson]

THIS came out earlier this year....



.... musically & technically, as stunning a Stravinsky anthology as you'll hear - all the fresher for being Maestro Suzuki's debut in 20thC repertoire...

http://www.eclassical.com/labels/bis/stravinsky-pulcinella-suite-2.html

I guess MM could have left the brief Shylock Suite out, and given us Pulcinella complete? Well, there you go.... and the Poulenc Stabat Mater is gorgeous, possibly my favourite of all this composer's so-adorable works.

[bluestateprommer]

While this concert does feel like short measure, strictly in terms of running time, this is a nice program on its own, with an interesting choice of these 3 works in juxtaposition. Plus, IMHO, the suggestions from others here wouldn't quite have worked out, because:

(a) Dropping Shylock would have eliminated the running Shakespeare season theme from this Prom.
(b) To hire another vocal soloist would have entailed paying said soloist, not to mention very likely having to raise Julie Fuchs' fee, because she would be singing two works in a concert rather than just one.

Now, if the Proms were always rolling in money in perpetuity, then no problem to program the complete Pulcinella in this Prom, for one. However, of course, the Proms are subject to budgetary considerations as much as any entity, and the money worries are likely only to get worse in the coming years. (But I digress.)

Regardless, as noted, on its own program merits, this is a very attractive Prom.

[mrbouffant]

Looking forward to being in the hall for this one tonight... not sure about the temperature levels though up at Circle level... may be rather 'close' !!

[BBMmk2]

Pulc have you got as many recordings of your pseudonym as Alps has of his? That is if there are that many - Suite or complete!

I'm just thinking of what that would suit me, in this!

[edashtav]

THIS came out earlier this year....



.... musically & technically, as stunning a Stravinsky anthology as you'll hear - all the fresher for being Maestro Suzuki's debut in 20thC repertoire...

http://www.eclassical.com/labels/bis/stravinsky-pulcinella-suite-2.html

[...]

All my Pulcinellas are LPs. Time for a CD. Given my love of Suzuki's Bach, I couldn't resist your recommendation, Jayne.
Many thanks.

[bluestateprommer]

If anyone wants to access the texts to the texts used in Faure's Shylock:

http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W1702_67335

PS: Nice start to this Prom, with crisp work from the BBC SO in the Faure. Julien Behr's voice sounds perhaps a bit "small", although Ian Skelly said something about Behr being placed within the orchestra, if I heard correctly. But his diction is excellent, of course, so no worries there.

[edashtav]

[...]

PS: Nice start to this Prom, with crisp work from the BBC SO in the Faure. Julien Behr's voice sounds perhaps a bit "small", although Ian Skelly said something about Behr being placed within the orchestra, if I heard correctly. But his diction is excellent, of course, so no worries there.

Marc Minkowski has become my favourite conductor of 20th century French music. From the start of this concert, he conducted the Faure with love, care and respect. Here is Faure travelling from Shakespeare to Verlaine from London to Venice with a good stopover in Paris. Whilst each Faure movement understays its welcome, each piece was carefully characterised by Minkowski who, once again, got the best out of the BBC SO.

Other boarders have grumbled over opportunity lost by not programming the complete Stravinsky ballet. I endorse their thoughts. Given the brilliance of Minkowski's performance of the suite, that loss was all the greater. Minkowski used his encyclopaedic knowledge of HIP baroque to shape and delineate the music in a tremendous fashion. This was the finest performance that I've heard. Except for a bassoon tiring momentarily during its ostinato plus, the solo instrumentalists of the BBC SO were exceptionally good.
Last evening, I rated Noseda's Missa Solemnis as the finest performance thus far of the 2016 Proms season. Pulcinellas under Minkowski's benign control has assumed the lead!