Nzsooss - Massenet - Orchestral Suites Nos 4-7 - 'Scènes pittoresques' etc [CD]

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Jules Massenet (1842 - 1912) Suite No.4: Scènes pittoresques Suite No.5: Scènes napolitaines Suite No.6: Scènes de féerie Suite No.7: Scènes alsaciennes Jules Massenet was born on 12th May 1842 at Montaud, near Saint-Etienne, and was given the baptismal names of Jules Emile Frederic, although he always hated his first name. He was the youngest child of the family and had eleven brothers and sisters, including the children of his father by his first marriage. The latter, a graduate of the Ecole Poly technique and a staff officer, who had resigned his commission after the defeat of Napoleon, had taken as his second wife Eléonore-Adélaïde Royer de Marancour, daughter of a well- to-do official and known, at least, to the Duchesse d' Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI. Massenet's family, therefore, belonged to the established provincial bourgeoisie, still attached to the grandiose national ideals of Napoleon. In 1848 Massenet's father, owner of an iron-foundry, lost his fortune, a situation aggravated by his ill-health. In consequence he decided to move to Paris with his whole family. In October 1852, Jules Massenet, now only nine years old, entered the Conservatoire, where he studied with Savard and with Laurent, while continuing his normal schooling. In 1859 he won the first piano prize and went on to study harmony with Henri Reber, who advised him to become a composition pupil of Ambroise Thomas. Existing now in precarious financial circumstances, Massenet found various means of earning money. He played the piano in cafes, taught music in private schools and even played in various orchestras as a timpanist or triangle-player. He possessed considerable energy, witness his enthusiasm for composition. At each lesson at the Conservatoire he appeared with a new waltz, a fragment of an opera, an overture or part of a symphony. It is said that he never lost a chance to compose, even sketching music on the surface of his orchestral timpani. In 1863 Massenet won the first prize for fugue and a first Grand Prix de Rome with his cantata David Rizzio. This latter award allowed him to spend two years in Rome at the Villa Medici, according to custom. There he met Liszt, who introduced him to Mme de Sainte-Marie, whose daughter became his piano pupil. Two years later, on 8th October 1866, he married her. During his time abroad Massenet travelled in Italy and also visited Hungary and Germany. These years brought a symphonic Overture, a Requiem and fragments that were later used for the sacred drama Marie-Magdeleine. From 1866 onwards Massenet's music began to be performed in Paris, notably his suite Pompeia, on 24th February of that year, but it was a year before his work was heard in the theatre. His comic opera La Grand Tante was staged at the Opera-comique on 3rd April 1867. Its lack of success is seen in the fact that it was only given fourteen performances - Esclarmonde, for example, received a hundred

Suite No. 4: Sc\xc3\xa8nes pittoresques:: Marche

Suite No. 4: Sc\xc3\xa8nes pittoresques:: Air de ballet

Suite No. 4: Sc\xc3\xa8nes pittoresques:: Angelus

Suite No. 4: Sc\xc3\xa8nes pittoresques:: F\xc3\xaate boh\xc3\xa8me

Suite No. 5: Sc\xc3\xa8nes napolitaines:: La danse

Suite No. 5: Sc\xc3\xa8nes napolitaines:: La procession

Suite No. 5: Sc\xc3\xa8nes napolitaines:: La f\xc3\xaate

Suite No. 6: Sc\xc3\xa8nes de fe'erie: Cort\xc3\xa8ge

Suite No. 6: Sc\xc3\xa8nes de fe'erie: Ballet

Suite No. 6: Sc\xc3\xa8nes de fe'erie: Apparition

Suite No. 6: Sc\xc3\xa8nes de fe'erie: Bacchanale

Suite No. 7: Scenes alsaciennes: Dimanche matin

Suite No. 7: Scenes alsaciennes: Au cabaret

Suite No. 7: Scenes alsaciennes: Sous les tilleuls

Suite No. 7: Scenes alsaciennes: Dimanche soir