Massenet's non-operatic music, such as that featured on this album, was often commissioned and performed in famous Parisian orchestral concerts directed by figures like Jules-Étienne Pasdeloup and Édouard Colonne.
Composition History
The incidental music for Les Érinnyes, a play by Charles-Marie-René Leconte de Lisle based on Aeschylus's Oresteia, was requested from Massenet by Félix Duquesnel.
Composer Biography
Jules Massenet, a principal composer of the Belle Époque, is famous for his 27 operas, but also wrote ballets, orchestral suites, incidental music, and some 200 songs.
Compositional Technique
The tone poem Visions by Massenet, modelled on Liszt's Les Préludes, uniquely calls for an offstage group including soprano, solo violin, harp, harmonium, and an 'electrophone'.
Performer Biography
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, formed in 1891, was awarded Royal Patronage in 1977 and has a worldwide reputation for its recordings, receiving two Diapason d'Or de l'année awards and eight GRAMMY Awards nominations.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Massenet had a perennial interest in the Iberian peninsula, which is evident in his ballet Espada, drenched in Iberian sunshine with a bolero, fandango, and slow waltz.
Performer Biography
Jean-Luc Tingaud, the conductor on this album, studied with French composer and conductor Manuel Rosenthal and has conducted numerous operas and orchestras internationally.
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