The Gounod Edition: Operas, Choral Works, Symphonies

 
The Gounod Edition: Operas, Choral Works, Symphonies cover $140.00 Special Order
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CHARLES GOUNOD
The Gounod Edition: Operas, Choral Works, Symphonies
Placido Domingo, Regine Crespin, Alfredo Kraus, Nicolai Gedda, Mirella Freni, Marilyn Horne, Rolando Villazon, etc

[ Warner Classics / 15 CD Box Set ]

Release Date: Monday 25 June 2018

This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.

This 15CD boxset pays tribute to the great French composer Charles Gounod (1818-1893), whose 200th anniversary of birth we will celebrate on June 17th. This is the most comprehensive boxset dedicated to Gounod ever released. It includes 3 operas: his masterpiece Faust in the historic version by Georges Prêtre and Plácido Domingo, a highlights version sung in German by Gedda, Moser and Moll, and Roméo et Juliette and Mireille by the French conductor Michel Plasson and Alfredo Kraus (1st) and Mirella Freni (2nd). They are completed by some other opera arias, a great selection of 26 songs, three sacred works including the well-known Messe solennelle de Sainte Cécile and the only version available of Mors et Vita. Then, after a rarity, the Symphony for Wind instruments, the box ends with Gounod's symphonies.

"I found that when approached in the right, relaxed frame of mind these exquisitely-turned scores still work their magic…We should also warm pretty well to these star-studded performances. The 1978 Faust is in grandiose, red-blooded style, with Plácido Domingo in gentlemanly form…while the somewhat hazy EMI LP recordings have gained extra body on CD…Anyone wanting a share in these darling old steeds at a tempting price will be amply satisfied." Opera

Tracks:

Faust:
Plácido Domingo (Faust), Mirella Freni (Marguerite), Nicolai Ghiaurov (Mephistopheles)

Margarethe (highlights)
Nicolai Gedda (Doktor Faust), Kurt Moll (Mephisto), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Valentin)

Roméo et Juliette
Alfredo Kraus (Roméo), Catherine Malfitano (Juliette), José van Dam (Frère Laurent)

Mireille
Mirella Freni (Mireille), Alain Vanzo (Vincent), José Van Dam (Ourrias)

Polyeucte: Source délicieuse
Rolando Villazón (tenor)

Faiblesse de la race humaine...Inspirez-moi, race divine (from La Reine de Saba)
Rolando Villazón (tenor)

Héro sur la tour solitaire (from Sapho)
Marilyn Horne (soprano)

Ô ma lyre immortelle (from Sapho)
Régine Crespin (soprano

Plus grand dans son obscurité (from La Reine de Saba)
Françoise Pollet (soprano)

Nuit resplendissante (from Cinq-Mars)
Françoise Pollet (soprano)

Medje (Chanson Arabe)
José van Dam (bass-baritone)

Crépuscule
José van Dam (bass-baritone)

Envoi des fleurs
José van Dam (bass-baritone)

Si la mort est le but
José van Dam (bass-baritone)

Hymne à la nuit
José van Dam (bass-baritone)

Sérénade
Barbara Hendricks (soprano)

Viens! Les gazons sont verts
Barbara Hendricks (soprano)

Ave Maria
Barbara Hendricks (soprano)

plus 21 additional songs

Messe Chorale
Ensemble Vocal de Lausanne

St Cecilia Mass
Franz Crass (bass), Heinz Hoppe (vocals), Pilar Lorengar (soprano)

Petite Symphonie pour vents
Halle Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli

Mors et Vita
Barbara Hendricks (soprano), Nadine Denize (mezzo), John Aler (tenor), José van Dam (bass-baritone)

Symphony No. 1
Symphony No. 2 in E flat
Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse

Ave Maria
Pro Arte Orchestra