Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Le Palais Hanté & Psaume 47 Susan Bullock, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Choir & Yan Pascal Tortelier

• Florent Schmitt (1870 - 1958): La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50:
• 1 Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50: I. Prélude 08:36
• 2 Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50: II. Danse des perles 03:49
• 3 Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50: II. Les Enchantements sur la mer 08:37
• 4 Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50: IV. Danse des éclairs 02:52
• 5 Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Op. 50: V. Danse de l'effroi 01:44
• Le Palais hanté, Op. 49:
• 6 Schmitt: Le Palais hanté, Op. 49 13:44
• Psaume XLVII, Op. 38:
• 7 Schmitt: Psaume XLVII, Op. 38: Gloire au Seigneur! 04:24
• 8 Schmitt: Psaume XLVII, Op. 38: Parce que le Seigneur est très élevé… 04:26
• 9 Schmitt: Psaume XLVII, Op. 38: Il a choisi dans son héritage la beauté de Jacob… 11:29
• 10 Schmitt: Psaume XLVII, Op. 38: Dieu est monté au milieu des chants de joie! 08:22
• Total Runtime 01:08:03

Info for Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Le Palais Hanté & Psaume 47

Florent Schmitt was well known as a critic and composer during his lifetime, but his compositions fell into neglect after his death. Difficult to pigeonhole, he has been called everything from conservative to neo-romantic to revolutionary, and Henri Dutilleux wrote of him that he ‘gave back to the French school certain notions of grandeur’.

The three works on this album are all remarkable in their own ways – for their rhythmic exuberance, their rich and varied orchestration, their imaginative use of traditional harmonies, and, in the case of Le Palais hanté and La Tragédie de Salomé, for their exploration of the dark side of humanity.

Schmitt’s setting of Psaume 47 for soprano, chorus, organ, and orchestra was premiered in 1906. This was to be the only choral score on an epic scale by a French composer until Honegger wrote Le Roi David twenty years later.

Several other important compositions followed, the symphonic poem La Tragédie de Salomé being perhaps Schmitt’s best-known work today. The original ballet, scored for a modest-sized orchestra, was performed at the Théâtre des Arts in Paris, but Schmitt later shortened the work while substantially expanding the orchestration.

Le Palais hanté is based on a poem from The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. A recurring message in the writings by Poe is that all good things in life are transitory and – however good and stable things may seem – evil lurks just around the corner. In this work, Schmitt marries the sense of doom inherent in the poem – evident from the very first phrase – with a style that is reminiscent of Liszt.

"Tortelier is...supple and caressing, emphasising the score's Gallic progeniture. Going from the lurid sex and violence of Salome to Schmitt's setting of Psalm 47 should be a major wrench stylistically, but isn't: Tortelier again excels in the untrammelled sensuality of the middle section, where solo violin and soprano exchange indecently lavish rhapsodies...This is a superb CD, and an ideal introduction to the perilously seductive sound-world of this composer." (BBC Music Magazine)

"under Yan Pascal Tortelier, the Brazilian orchestra is first rate: the strings are rich, the brass cobweb-blastingly astringent, the percussion galloping. Susan Bullock and the SPSO choir make a fine contribution to the psalm." (Classic FM Magazine)

"Tortelier relishes the rich Wagnerian colours and the fluidity of harmony and directs a radiant account of Psalm 47, with the chorus's singing fully matching the music's jubilation." (Gramophone Magazine)

Susan Bullock, soprano
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra and Choir
Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor

No biography found.

Booklet for Schmitt: La Tragédie de Salomé, Le Palais Hanté & Psaume 47