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    Naxos

    Massenet: Ballet Music / Gallois, Barcelona

    CD · 1 disc

    $19.99
    Composer
    MASSENET
    Artist
    Patrick Gallois, Orquestra Simfonica De Barcelona I Nacional De Catalunya (Obc)
    Released
    Nov 19, 2013
    This disc is just a peach. Jules Massenet’s ballet music brings together all the most charming musical trends of the 19th century: the new French ballet tradition, the lightness of Offenbach’s operettas, the lush tunes of Strauss’s Vienna, the big splashy orchestration of late-century “exotic” potboilers. The music keeps getting better and better as the CD goes along.

    First I listened out of order and decided the opener, Bacchus, was my least favourite. Then I went in order and, mid-Bacchus, wondered what I had been complaining about. Yes, “Chasseresses et Bacchantes” has an early role for a percussion instrument so wimpily played that I’m not sure what it is, but then the most glorious Johann Strauss parody waltz breaks out and all is forgiven. Yes, the final bacchanale isn’t as crazy as Saint-Säens’ or Roussel’s, but what music is?

    Hérodiade is an opera about Herod, where he’s the central character, in contrast with Richard Strauss’s Salome. The ballet music comes from a banquet where Herod entertains guests with dances by exotic slave girls from various foreign lands. It’s the shortest selection here.

    Then we have big suites from Thaïs and Le Cid, each over 20 minutes, the highlights of the disc. Those who know Thaïs only for its “Meditation” will be happy to hear that the rest of the opera is also jam-packed with beautiful music. It’s varied, too, from the stern timpani roll of the opening andante to the perky Pierné-like flute and piccolo solos of the sixth movement, to the unexpected two-minute church-like organ solo. Le Cid is a festival of Spanish tropes, tunes and clichés from the very start. The inevitable cor anglais solo, in ‘Madrilène’, is just gorgeous. It’s as tuneful and colourful as the Spanish pastiches of Chabrier and Debussy, which is to say it’s a ton of fun.

    The Barcelona Symphony plays excellently throughout, that one wimpy percussion issue confined to a single track. They seem to especially enjoy the Le Cid music, but who wouldn’t? Patrick Gallois continues to prove himself an extremely skilled, sensitive conductor of ballet music. You could imagine people dancing to this album. Given how good the music is, it’s extremely rare to have it collected on disc without the full operas alongside. Frémaux and Marriner have recorded Le Cid but for sound, panache and comprehensiveness, it’s hard to beat this. What fun.

    – Brian Reinhart, MusicWeb International
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  • Massenet: Ballet Music / Gallois, Barcelona

    Massenet: Ballet Music / Gallois, Barcelona

    Naxos Nov 2013
    1 disc
    CD
    $19.99
  • Les vikings - Mythes, realites, heritages
    FrémeauxPre-order

    Les vikings - Mythes, realites, heritages

    CD · 3 discs

    $32.99
    Composer
    Lucie Malbos
    Artist
    Lucie Malbos
    Les Presses Universitaires de France et Fremeaux & Associes proposent cette histoire des vikings, expliquee par Lucie Malbos, maîtresse de conferences en histoire medievale à l'universite de Poitiers, membre du Centre d'etudes superieures de civilisation medievale et specialiste du monde scandinave au premier Moyen Âge. Des guerriers casques aux longues cornes, des « drakkars » fendant les mers glacees, des explorateurs audacieux posant le pied en Amerique avant Christophe Colomb Les images associees aux vikings sont nombreuses, fascinantes, mais souvent eloignees de la realite historique. Cette conference propose de depasser ces cliches pour redecouvrir des societes complexes, dynamiques et profondement inscrites dans les grands mouvements de l'histoire medievale. en retraçant la manière don't la figure du Viking s'est construite du Moyen Âge à nos imaginaires contemporains, Lucie Malbos invite à un voyage au coeur d'une periode et de regions encore largement meconnues. S'appuyant sur les recherches les plus recentes - archeologie, analyses genetiques, etude des textes - elle devoile des societes scandinaves en pleine mutation, prises entre affrontements, echanges, integration culturelle et innovations sociales, et montre comment les vikings ont contribue à l'essor de l'Europe medievale. Bien plus qu'un simple tableau de conquêtes, cette exploration offre une vision renouvelee de l'ère viking, des interactions entre mondes nordiques, occidentaux et orientaux, et des transformations profondes qui ont façonne l'Europe du Nord au Moyen Âge. Claude COLOMBINI FRÉMEAUX Presses Universitaires de France and Fremeaux & Associes present this history of the Vikings, narrated by Lucie Malbos, Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of Poitiers, member of the Centre for Advanced Studies in Medieval Civilization, and a specialist in the Scandinavian world of the Early Middle Ages. Horned warriors, 'longships' cutting through icy seas, daring explorers reaching America before Christopher Columbus-the images associated with the Vikings are numerous, captivating, yet often far removed from historical reality. This lecture moves beyond such cliches to rediscover complex, dynamic societies deeply embedded in the major developments of medieval history. By tracing how the figure of the Viking was constructed from the Middle Ages to our contemporary imagination, Lucie Malbos invites listeners on a journey into the heart of a period and regions that remain largely misunderstood. Drawing on the most recent research-archaeology, genetic analysis, textual studies, and more-she reveals Scandinavian societies undergoing profound transformation, shaped by conflict, exchange, cultural integration, and social innovation. She demonstrates how the Vikings contributed to the rise of medieval Europe. Far more than a simple account of conquest, this exploration offers a fresh perspective on the Viking Age, the interactions between the Nordic, Western, and Eastern worlds, and the far-reaching transformations that shaped Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. Claude COLOMBINI FRÉMEAUX CD1 : LA CONSTRUCTION PLURISÉCULAIRE D'UNE FIGURE MYTHIQUE - CD2 : LE PHÉNOMÈNE VIKING - CD3 : AU-DELÀ DES VIKINGS. DIRECTION : OLIVIER COQUARD, PRODUCTION : CLAUDE COLOMBINI FRÉMEAUX POUR PUF-FRÉMEAUX
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  • Les vikings - Mythes, realites, heritages
    Pre-order

    Les vikings - Mythes, realites, heritages

    Frémeaux Nov 2026
    3 discs
    CD
    $32.99