Massenet's Maelstrom

Started by Moonfish, May 14, 2018, 11:08:18 AM

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Moonfish

May 14, 2018, 11:08:18 AM
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Massenet

Compositions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Jules_Massenet

I'm surprised that Massenet doesn't have a composer thread or am I mistaken? Surely there must be a number of Massenet fans here at GMG?

What are your favorite works and recommendations within the realm of Massenet?





"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

kyjo

#1
May 15, 2018, 07:35:43 PM Last Edit: May 15, 2018, 07:37:37 PM by kyjo
The orchestral suites found on this disc are absolutely delightful in every regard:

[asin]B00000144Q[/asin]

These tuneful, colorfully orchestrated works would make nice substitutes for the Bizet Carmen and L'arlesienne suites and the Grieg Peer Gynt suites every once in a while on concert programs. I'm really surprised they aren't played more often.
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

Florestan

#2
May 16, 2018, 01:10:30 AM
Quote from: kyjo on May 15, 2018, 07:35:43 PM
The orchestral suites found on this disc are absolutely delightful in every regard:

[asin]B00000144Q[/asin]

These tuneful, colorfully orchestrated works would make nice substitutes for the Bizet Carmen and L'arlesienne suites and the Grieg Peer Gynt suites every once in a while on concert programs. I'm really surprised they aren't played more often.

Plus:



I beg to differ on Peer Gynt, though, which is an altogether different affair, a much darker and serious work; the suites do the whole a great injustice and after hearing it in its entirety I have no wish to ever hear just the suites again --- the excising of spoken melodrama robs the composition of more than half of its substance.
There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. — Claude Debussy

snyprrr

#3
May 16, 2018, 12:38:27 PM
DudeMan, sorry, it shoulda been 'Massenet's Basonette'

Massenet isn't badass enough to evoke a maelstrome,... is he???

Moonfish

#4
May 18, 2018, 03:34:02 PM
Quote from: snyprrr on May 16, 2018, 12:38:27 PM
DudeMan, sorry, it shoulda been 'Massenet's Basonette'

Massenet isn't badass enough to evoke a maelstrome,... is he???

An alliteration was required!   :P
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Brian

#5
May 19, 2018, 08:18:18 PM
Massenet's Massive Fête

I remember listening to and thoroughly enjoying the piano concerto in that EMI Ciccolini recording, posting about it here, and discovering that everyone else thinks it's a superficial piece that dies on second listen. That scared me off. Maybe it's finally time to try again and see if I still enjoy it!

amw

#6
May 19, 2018, 08:32:04 PM
I am a consistent fan of the Massenet concerto across multiple listens, for what it's worth.

The Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series pairs it with Reynaldo Hahn's piano concerto which is also excellent.

Moonfish

#7
May 23, 2018, 10:24:34 PM
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Moonfish

#8
May 23, 2018, 10:26:58 PM Last Edit: May 23, 2018, 10:38:29 PM by Moonfish
Quite a number of recordings out there. Warner/EMI/Erato recently compiled a Massenet collection (16 cd):

[asin] B079851VR7[/asin]
"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Moonfish

#9
May 23, 2018, 10:30:22 PM
Back in 2012 Decca/Universal released this compilation (23 cd) to honor the centennial of his death:

I was thrilled to see Frederica von Stade's "Werther" in this box. 

[asin] B007NUP7Y4[/asin]

"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want...."
Anna Lappé

Baron Scarpia

#10
May 23, 2018, 11:00:48 PM
Quote from: Brian on May 19, 2018, 08:18:18 PMI remember listening to and thoroughly enjoying the piano concerto in that EMI Ciccolini recording, posting about it here, and discovering that everyone else thinks it's a superficial piece that dies on second listen. That scared me off. Maybe it's finally time to try again and see if I still enjoy it!

I have that recording in a big box. I should drag it out and give a listen.

DaveF

#11
May 24, 2018, 01:05:06 AM
It's the one thing that probably everybody has heard, but the ballet from Le Cid is gorgeous, endlessly charming, spirited and unforgettable.  (I'm rehearsing for a performance at the moment - castanets, tambourine and side-drum.)
"All the world is birthday cake" - George Harrison

Jaakko Keskinen

#12
May 28, 2018, 04:54:46 AM
To quote my favorite Massenet opera, it will always be "Thaïs, Thaïs, Thaïs."  :) I saw a spectacular gold-clad production in Finnish national opera once and it's coming again the next season.
"Javert, though frightful, had nothing ignoble about him. Probity, sincerity, candor, conviction, the sense of duty, are things which may become hideous when wrongly directed; but which, even when hideous, remain grand."

- Victor Hugo

mjmosca

#13
May 31, 2018, 02:22:08 AM
Great to see Massenet getting attention. All of his operas are superb!- Don't miss Werther with Georges Thill and Ninon Vallin, ca. 1930, Manon ca. 1954 with de los Angeles and Henri Gay lead by Monteux, Thais ca. 1962 with Renee Doria and Robert Massard, and Esclarmonde with Sutherland & Bonynge. The new box of collected works looks really good too.

Massenet's works really seem to spring to life when sung by Francophone singers. Esclarmonde recording is the "odd man out" in the list above, but it is really well done nonetheless, as one would expect from the cast and conductor. 

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#14
February 14, 2021, 08:59:30 AM
Enjoying various works by the talented composer, including his lesser-known pieces, this weekend.

Dry Brett Kavanaugh

#15
March 21, 2021, 05:19:09 PM
Wonderful recordings by John Eliot Gardiner. Solid performance and excellent recording sound.
As for the compositions, the orchestration is very innovative and creative for the time period.

kyjo

#16
July 01, 2023, 10:30:32 AM Last Edit: July 01, 2023, 10:32:43 AM by kyjo
Only one page for Massenet?! Quel horreur!! :o Seriously though, this guy deserves to be remembered for so much more than just the Meditation from Thaïs. The other day I was re-listening to his Piano Concerto in E-flat major (the excellent Ciccolini/Cambreling recording on EMI). Massenet has a reputation as a rather "light and fluffy" composer, but this concerto is actually anything but: heroic and dramatic in the 1st movement, hymn-like and soulful (and surprisingly dramatic at times) in the 2nd, and rip-roaringly Slavic in the incredibly catchy finale, which ends the concerto in C minor! This highly individual concerto really deserves to be played much more often in concert - I can only imagine how much the finale would bring the house down!

I really ought to start exploring the works which are, of course, central to Massenet's output - his operas. What would fellow members suggest as good starting points? :)
"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" - Sergei Rachmaninoff

vers la flamme

#17
July 01, 2023, 10:33:36 AM
I have not heard a note of Massenet. I saw a complete recording of Thaïs on Decca at the record store the other day and thought about getting it but didn't. What else is good?

Florestan

#18
July 01, 2023, 10:51:26 AM
Quote from: kyjo on July 01, 2023, 10:30:32 AMOnly one page for Massenet?! Quel horreur!! :o

Well, vocal music is the Cinderella of GMG, and non-Austro-Germanic vocal music is the Cinderella's Cinderella of GMG...  ;D

There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. — Claude Debussy

Florestan

#19
July 01, 2023, 10:58:21 AM
Quote from: vers la flamme on July 01, 2023, 10:33:36 AMI have not heard a note of Massenet. I saw a complete recording of Thaïs on Decca at the record store the other day and thought about getting it but didn't. What else is good?



Beauty is truth, truth is beauty. that is all ye know on earth and all ye need to know
There is no theory. You have only to listen. Pleasure is the law. — Claude Debussy
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