Search - Pierre Boulez, Dukas, De Gaetani :: La Peri

Beautiful and Vibrant Recordings

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 01/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the original LP recording of La Peri and was glad to see that it had been transferred to CD. La Peri is a ballet (titled Poeme danse) by Paul Dukas, of which the famous fanfare alone is usually played on the radio. This is very sad since the music is so wonderful. The ballet has an exotic story: Prince Iskendar, in order to stave off his impending death, is searching for the Flower of Immortality. He finds it in the possession of a sleeping Peri, a fairy, from whom he steals the flower. But no sooner does Iskendar possess the flower than the Peri awakes and begins a seductive dance after which the Prince, overcome by the power of the dance, willingly surrenders the flower to await his end.



The CD also holds a very spirited complete recording of Manuel De Falla's The Three-Cornered Hat and a recording of the rarely heard Harpsichord Concerto. If you are familiar with the dances from The Three-Cornered Hat you will want to have the complete ballet, especially in this exquisite recording. The complete work provides all of the color of the dances and presents the work as the composer envisioned it, including the mezzo-soprano part in Danza del molinero which is nicely sung by Jan de Gaetani. The Harpsichord Concerto was written for Wanda Landowska and is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, violin and cello. The first movement is punctuated with syncopated chords and the second movement has a religious air to it (the marking is estribillo religioso) while the finale is reminiscent of Scarlatti. The music is (as one would expect) influence by Spanish music but not popular tunes as is the case with The Three-Cornered Hat.



I highly recommend this disc. Anyone who loves The Sorcerer's Apprentice will want La Peri and the De Falla is without equal.

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