Spirito, Orchestre National de Lyon, Leonard Slatkin – Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57 (2022) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Spirito, Orchestre National de Lyon, Leonard Slatkin – Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé, M. 57 (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 58:10 minutes | 968 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Naxos

Composed for Sergey Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Ravel’s ‘symphonie chorégraphique’ Daphnis et Chloé is based on a classical Greco-Roman love story set on the island of Lesbos. He described the work as ‘a vast musical fresco’, and with its extraordinarily passionate music, lush harmonies and orchestration, is considered both his masterpiece and the epitome of Impressionism in music. Orchestrated from the third of his Miroirs for piano, Ravel’s Une barque sur l’océan is an evocative portrayal of the ever-changing moods of the sea.”Naxos has done well by Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, with a handful of recordings of his symphonie chorégraphique in the company’s recent history. Indeed, Leonard Slatkin’s is the second in the past decade to feature the Orchestre National de Lyon, the first set down by his predecessor as music director, Jun Märkl, in 2009. This disc marks the fourth volume in Slatkin’s Ravel series but I’m not convinced it’s preferable to Märkl’s earlier effort.

Slatkin’s chief problem is a lack of urgency. Even if the premiere was overshadowed by another Sergey Diaghilev commission which opened two days earlier in Paris (the Prélude à L’après-midi d’un faune, in which Vaslav Nijinsky had caused a scandal as the faun), Daphnis is an intensely dramatic work. Slatkin is more content to revel in the languorous stretches of Ravel’s meticulous score than to unbutton his shirt in the more hedonistic sections. In the ‘Danse guerrière’ Slatkin is too polite – Märkl really tears into this war dance – and the ‘Danse générale’ finale doesn’t climax quite as orgasmically.

However, in the ‘Lever du jour’ woodwinds burble and chirrup evocatively and the flute-playing in the ‘Pantomime’ (possibly the same principal flautist as for Märkl – there is no listing of players in the booklet) is of limpid beauty and poise. The new recording scores in its local choice of chorus, Spirito sounding a good deal more ethereal than an earthbound MDR Leipzig Radio Chorus. No recent recording quite challenges Decca’s gorgeous account with the LSO under Pierre Monteux (who conducted the ballet’s premiere), which remains one of the most magical in the catalogue.” (Mark Pullinger, Gramophone)

Tracklist:

1-1. Spirito – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 1, Introduction (03:08)
1-2. Spirito – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 1, Danse religieuse (05:32)
1-3. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 1, Danse des jeunes filles – Danse des jeunes gens – No. 2, Danse générale (02:44)
1-4. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 2, Daphnis s’approche (00:41)
1-5. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 3, Danse grotesque de Dorcon (01:48)
1-6. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 4, Danse légère et gracieuse de Daphnis (03:54)
1-7. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 5, Danse de Lycéion – Enlèvement de Chloé (04:25)
1-8. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 6, Nocturne (01:52)
1-9. Orchestre National De Lyon – I. Une prairie а la lisiére d’un bois sacré: No. 6, Danse lente et mystérieuse des nymphes (03:11)
1-10. Spirito – II. Camp des pirates: No. 7, Introduction (02:51)
1-11. Orchestre National De Lyon – II. Camp des pirates: No. 8, Danse guerrière (04:48)
1-12. Orchestre National De Lyon – II. Camp des pirates: No. 9, Danse suppliante de Chloé (06:05)
1-13. Spirito – III. Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit: No. 10, Lever du jour (05:23)
1-14. Orchestre National De Lyon – III. Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit: No. 11, Pantomime (06:50)
1-15. Spirito – III. Paysage du première 1er tableau, а la fin de la nuit: No. 12, Danse générale (04:50)

Download:

mqs.link_Spirit00rchestreNati0naldeLy0nLe0nardSlatkinRavelDaphnisetChl0M.5720222496