The Damnation of Faust
Encyclopedia
La damnation de Faust Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz
. He called it a "légende dramatique" (dramatic legend). It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique
in Paris
on 6 December 1846.
and produced a musical work that, like the masterpiece it's based on, defies easy categorization. Conceived at various times as a free-form oratorio and as an opera (Berlioz ultimately called it a "légende dramatique") its travelogue form and cosmic perspective have made it an extreme challenge to stage as an opera. Berlioz himself was eager to see the work staged, but once he did, he conceded that the production techniques of his time were not up to the task of bringing the work to dramatic life. Most of the work's fame has come through concert performances.
Berlioz read Goethe's
Faust Part One
in 1828, in Gérard de Nerval
's translation; "this marvelous book fascinated me from the first", he recalled in his Memoirs. "I could not put it down. I read it incessantly, at meals, in the theatre, in the street." He was so impressed that a suite entitled "Eight Scenes from Faust" became his Opus 1 (1829), though he later recalled all the copies of it he could find. He returned to the material in 1845, to make a larger work, with some additional text by Almire Gandonnière
to Berlioz's specifications, that he first called a "concert opera", and as it expanded, finally a "dramatic legend".
He worked on the score during his concert tour of 1845, adding his own text for "Nature immense, impénétrable et fière"— Faust's climactic invocation of all nature— and incorporating the Rákóczi March
, which had been a thunderous success at a concert in Pest, Hungary, 15 February 1846.
, Paris
, 6 December 1846, did not meet with critical acclaim, perhaps due to its halfway status between opera
and cantata
; the public was apathetic, and two performances (and a cancelled third) rendered a financial setback for Berlioz: "Nothing in my career as an artist wounded me more deeply than this unexpected indifference", he remembered.
La Damnation de Faust is performed regularly in concert halls, since its first successful complete performance in concert in Paris, in 1877; it is occasionally staged as an opera, for the first time in Opéra de Monte-Carlo
on 18 February 1893, where it was produced by its director Raoul Gunsbourg
, Jean de Reszke
singing the role of Faust. The Metropolitan Opera
premiered it first in concert (2 February 1896) and then on stage (The United States stage premiere on 7 December 1906). The Met revived it first in concert at Carnegie Hall
on 10 November 1996, (repeated on tour in Tokyo
the next year), then on the stage production on 7 November 2008, produced and directed by Robert Lepage
, with innovative techniques of computer-generated stage imagery that responds to the performers' voices. Filmmaker Terry Gilliam
made his opera debut at London's English National Opera
in May 2011, directing The Damnation of Faust.. The production received positive reviews in the British press
Méphistophélès and Faust arrive at Auerbach's tavern in Leipzig, where Brander, a student, sings a song about a rat whose high life in a kitchen is ended by a dose of poison. The other guests offer an ironic "Amen," and Méphistophélès continues with another song about a flea that brings his relatives to infest a whole royal court (Song of the Flea). Disgusted by the vulgarity of it all, Faust demands to be taken somewhere else.
On a meadow by the Elbe, Méphistophélès shows Faust a dream vision of a beautiful woman named Marguerite, causing Faust to fall in love with her. He calls out her name, and Méphistophélès promises to lead Faust to her. Together with a group of students and soldiers, they enter the town where she lives.
Faust calls upon nature to cure him of his world-weariness ("Nature immense, impénétrable et fière"). Méphistophélès appears and tells him that Marguerite is in prison. She has accidentally given her mother too much of a sleeping potion, killing the old woman, and will be hanged the next day. Faust panics, but Méphistophélès claims he can save her—if Faust relinquishes his soul to him. Unable to think of anything but saving Marguerite, Faust agrees. The two ride off on a pair of black horses.
Thinking they are on their way to Marguerite, Faust becomes terrified when he sees demonic apparitions. The landscape becomes more and more horrible and grotesque, and Faust finally realizes that Méphistophélès has taken him directly into hell. Demons and damned spirits greet Méphistophélès in a mysterious infernal language and welcome Faust among them.
Hell has fallen silent after Faust's arrival — the torment he suffers is unspeakable. Marguerite is saved and welcomed into heaven.
Audio CD (First CD release 1995; Reissued April 24, 2007)
Number of Discs: 2
ASIN: B000NPCMEE
Label: EMI Classics
Performers: Gabriel Bacquier, Janet Baker, Maria Peronne, Nicolai Gedda
Orchestra: Paris Orchestra, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Georges Prêtre
Philips (ASIN B00000E35N)
Performed by London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
with Jules Bastin, Josephine Veasey, Richard van Allan, Ambrosian Singers, Geoffrey Browne, Gillian Knight, Alex Taylor, Nicolai Gedda
Conducted by Sir Colin Davis
Audio CD (October 23, 2002)
Number of Discs: 2
ASIN: B00006L76O
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Performers: Pierre Mollet, Michel Roux, Consuelo Rubio, Richard Verreau
Orchestra: Lamoureux Concert Association Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Igor Markevitch
Audio CD (August 7, 1995) Orchestra:
Number of Discs: 2
ASIN: B000005E3I
Label: Warner Classics UK / Erato
Performers: Susan Graham, Thomas Moser, Jose Van Dammo
Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor: Kent Nagano
Audio CD (August 11, 1998)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
ASIN: B000009ON4
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
with Keith Lewis, Anne Sofie von Otter, Bryn Terfel, Victor von Halem
Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
There are also countless recordings of excerpts. Three sections of it, the Marche Hongroise (Hungarian March), Ballet des sylphes, and Menuet des follets are sometimes extracted and performed as "Three Orchestral Pieces from La Damnation de Faust."
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
. He called it a "légende dramatique" (dramatic legend). It was first performed at the Opéra-Comique
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 6 December 1846.
Background and composition history
The French composer was inspired by a translation of Goethe's dramatic poem FaustGoethe's Faust
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust is a tragic play in two parts: and . Although written as a closet drama, it is the play with the largest audience numbers on German-language stages...
and produced a musical work that, like the masterpiece it's based on, defies easy categorization. Conceived at various times as a free-form oratorio and as an opera (Berlioz ultimately called it a "légende dramatique") its travelogue form and cosmic perspective have made it an extreme challenge to stage as an opera. Berlioz himself was eager to see the work staged, but once he did, he conceded that the production techniques of his time were not up to the task of bringing the work to dramatic life. Most of the work's fame has come through concert performances.
Berlioz read Goethe's
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
Faust Part One
Faust Part One
Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy is the first part of Goethe's Faust. It was first published in 1808.-Synopsis:The first part of Faust is not divided into acts, but is structured as a sequence of scenes in a variety of settings...
in 1828, in Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval
Gérard de Nerval was the nom-de-plume of the French poet, essayist and translator Gérard Labrunie, one of the most essentially Romantic French poets.- Biography :...
's translation; "this marvelous book fascinated me from the first", he recalled in his Memoirs. "I could not put it down. I read it incessantly, at meals, in the theatre, in the street." He was so impressed that a suite entitled "Eight Scenes from Faust" became his Opus 1 (1829), though he later recalled all the copies of it he could find. He returned to the material in 1845, to make a larger work, with some additional text by Almire Gandonnière
Almire Gandonnière
Almire Gandonnière was a French writer, remembered today only as the collaborator with Hector Berlioz of the libretto for La Damnation de Faust , which was based on the translation of Goethe's masterpiece by Gérard de Nerval...
to Berlioz's specifications, that he first called a "concert opera", and as it expanded, finally a "dramatic legend".
He worked on the score during his concert tour of 1845, adding his own text for "Nature immense, impénétrable et fière"— Faust's climactic invocation of all nature— and incorporating the Rákóczi March
Rákóczi March
The "Rákóczi March" is the unofficial state anthem of Hungary.The first version of this march-song was probably created around 1730 by one or more anonymous composers, although tradition says that it was the favourite march of Francis Rákóczi II...
, which had been a thunderous success at a concert in Pest, Hungary, 15 February 1846.
Performance history
Its first performance at the Opéra-ComiqueOpéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Parisian opera company, which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with, and for a time took the name of its chief rival the Comédie-Italienne at the Hôtel de Bourgogne, and was also called the...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 6 December 1846, did not meet with critical acclaim, perhaps due to its halfway status between opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
; the public was apathetic, and two performances (and a cancelled third) rendered a financial setback for Berlioz: "Nothing in my career as an artist wounded me more deeply than this unexpected indifference", he remembered.
La Damnation de Faust is performed regularly in concert halls, since its first successful complete performance in concert in Paris, in 1877; it is occasionally staged as an opera, for the first time in Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
on 18 February 1893, where it was produced by its director Raoul Gunsbourg
Raoul Gunsbourg
Raoul Samuel Gunsbourg was a Jewish-Romania-born opera director, impresario, composer and writer...
, Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke, born Jan Mieczyslaw, , was a Polish tenor. Renowned internationally for the high quality of his singing and the elegance of his bearing, he became the biggest male opera star of the late 19th century....
singing the role of Faust. The Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
premiered it first in concert (2 February 1896) and then on stage (The United States stage premiere on 7 December 1906). The Met revived it first in concert at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
on 10 November 1996, (repeated on tour in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
the next year), then on the stage production on 7 November 2008, produced and directed by Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage
Robert Lepage, is a playwright, actor, film director, and stage director from Québec City, Québec, and is one of Canada's most honoured theatre artists.- Life and work :...
, with innovative techniques of computer-generated stage imagery that responds to the performers' voices. Filmmaker Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
made his opera debut at London's English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
in May 2011, directing The Damnation of Faust.. The production received positive reviews in the British press
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast 6 December 1846 (Conductor: Hector Berlioz) |
|---|---|---|
| Marguerite, a young woman | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
Hortense Dufflot-Maillard |
| Faust, an aging scholar | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Gustave-Hippolyte Roger |
| Méphistophélès, the Devil disguised as a gentleman | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... or bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Léonard Hermann-Léon |
| Brander, a student | bass | Henry ("Henri") Deshaynes |
| Peasants, gnomes and sylphs, soldiers and students, demons and the damned, celestial spirits | ||
Instrumentation
The orchestral score requires:- 3 fluteWestern concert fluteThe Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
s (all doubling piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), 2 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s (one doubling English horn), 2 clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s (in C/A/B), bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
in B, 4 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s; - 4 hornHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
s (in all keys), 2 trumpets in C/D/F, 2 cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was...
s in A/B, 3 tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, 2 tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
s (originally scored for one ophicleideOphicleideThe ophicleide is a family of conical bore, brass keyed-bugles. It has a similar shape to the sudrophone.- History :The ophicleide was invented in 1817 and patented in 1821 by French instrument maker Jean Hilaire Asté as an extension to the keyed bugle or Royal Kent bugle family...
and one tuba); - timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, snare drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, cymbals, suspended cymbalSuspended cymbalright|thumb|Classical suspended cymbalA suspended cymbal is any single cymbal played with a stick or beater rather than struck against another cymbal. A common abbreviation used is sus. cym., or sus. cymb. .-History:...
, triangleTriangleA triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
, tamtamTamTamThe tamtam is a percussion instrument that is similar to a gong. It is sometimes spelled tam-tam.TamTam, Tam-Tam, tamtam, or tam-tam may also refer to:* Tam-Tams, a weekly drum circle held Sundays in the summer in Montreal...
, bellBell (instrument)A bell is a simple sound-making device. The bell is a percussion instrument and an idiophone. Its form is usually a hollow, cup-shaped object, which resonates upon being struck...
(sounding D, F, A, or C), 2 harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s; - strings: 15 violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s I, 15 violins II, 10 violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, 10 violoncellos, 9 double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es.
Part I
The aging scholar Faust contemplates the renewal of nature. Hearing peasants sing and dance, he realizes that their simple happiness is something he will never experience. An army marches past in the distance (Hungarian March). Faust doesn't understand why the soldiers are so enthusiastic about glory and fame.Part II
Depressed, Faust has returned to his study. Even the search for wisdom can no longer inspire him. Tired of life, he is about to commit suicide when the sound of church bells and an Easter hymn remind him of his youth, when he still had faith in religion. Suddenly Méphistophélès appears, ironically commenting on Faust's apparent conversion. He offers to take him on a journey, promising him the restoration of his youth, knowledge, and the fulfillment of all his wishes. Faust accepts.Méphistophélès and Faust arrive at Auerbach's tavern in Leipzig, where Brander, a student, sings a song about a rat whose high life in a kitchen is ended by a dose of poison. The other guests offer an ironic "Amen," and Méphistophélès continues with another song about a flea that brings his relatives to infest a whole royal court (Song of the Flea). Disgusted by the vulgarity of it all, Faust demands to be taken somewhere else.
On a meadow by the Elbe, Méphistophélès shows Faust a dream vision of a beautiful woman named Marguerite, causing Faust to fall in love with her. He calls out her name, and Méphistophélès promises to lead Faust to her. Together with a group of students and soldiers, they enter the town where she lives.
Part III
Faust and Méphistophélès hide in Marguerite's room. Faust feels that he will find in her his ideal of a pure and innocent woman ("Merci, doux crepuscule!"). Marguerite enters and sings a ballad about the King of Thule, who always remained sadly faithful to his lost love ("Autrefois, un roi de Thulé"). Méphistophélès summons spirits to enchant and deceive the girl and sings a sarcastic serenade outside her window, predicting her loss of innocence. When the spirits have vanished, Faust steps forward. Marguerite admits that she has dreamed of him, just as he has dreamed of her, and they declare their love for each other. Just then, Méphistophélès bursts in, warning them that the girl's reputation must be saved: the neighbors have learned that there is a man in Marguerite's room and have called her mother to the scene. After a hasty goodbye, Faust and Méphistophélès escape.Part IV
Faust has seduced, then abandoned Marguerite, who still awaits his return ("D'amour L'ardente flamme"). She can hear soldiers and students in the distance, which reminds her of the night Faust first came to her house. But this time he is not among them.Faust calls upon nature to cure him of his world-weariness ("Nature immense, impénétrable et fière"). Méphistophélès appears and tells him that Marguerite is in prison. She has accidentally given her mother too much of a sleeping potion, killing the old woman, and will be hanged the next day. Faust panics, but Méphistophélès claims he can save her—if Faust relinquishes his soul to him. Unable to think of anything but saving Marguerite, Faust agrees. The two ride off on a pair of black horses.
Thinking they are on their way to Marguerite, Faust becomes terrified when he sees demonic apparitions. The landscape becomes more and more horrible and grotesque, and Faust finally realizes that Méphistophélès has taken him directly into hell. Demons and damned spirits greet Méphistophélès in a mysterious infernal language and welcome Faust among them.
Hell has fallen silent after Faust's arrival — the torment he suffers is unspeakable. Marguerite is saved and welcomed into heaven.
Recordings
There are a number of recordings, a few of which are given below.Audio CD (First CD release 1995; Reissued April 24, 2007)
Number of Discs: 2
ASIN: B000NPCMEE
Label: EMI Classics
Performers: Gabriel Bacquier, Janet Baker, Maria Peronne, Nicolai Gedda
Orchestra: Paris Orchestra, Orchestre de l'Opéra de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Georges Prêtre
Philips (ASIN B00000E35N)
Performed by London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra
with Jules Bastin, Josephine Veasey, Richard van Allan, Ambrosian Singers, Geoffrey Browne, Gillian Knight, Alex Taylor, Nicolai Gedda
Conducted by Sir Colin Davis
Audio CD (October 23, 2002)
Number of Discs: 2
ASIN: B00006L76O
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Performers: Pierre Mollet, Michel Roux, Consuelo Rubio, Richard Verreau
Orchestra: Lamoureux Concert Association Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Igor Markevitch
Audio CD (August 7, 1995) Orchestra:
Number of Discs: 2
ASIN: B000005E3I
Label: Warner Classics UK / Erato
Performers: Susan Graham, Thomas Moser, Jose Van Dammo
Lyon Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Conductor: Kent Nagano
Audio CD (August 11, 1998)
Number of Discs: 2
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
ASIN: B000009ON4
Performed by London Philharmonia Orchestra
with Keith Lewis, Anne Sofie von Otter, Bryn Terfel, Victor von Halem
Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung
There are also countless recordings of excerpts. Three sections of it, the Marche Hongroise (Hungarian March), Ballet des sylphes, and Menuet des follets are sometimes extracted and performed as "Three Orchestral Pieces from La Damnation de Faust."
Parodies
- The piece, "L'Éléphant" (The Elephant) from Camille Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
's Carnival of the Animals (1886) uses a theme from the "Danse des sylphes," played on a double bass.
External links
Libretto- On Berlioz's Damnation of Faust by Jacques BarzunJacques BarzunJacques Martin Barzun is a French-born American historian of ideas and culture. He has written on a wide range of topics, but is perhaps best known as a philosopher of education, his Teacher in America being a strong influence on post-WWII training of schoolteachers in the United...
. Special Disc Jockey Pressing Recorded Autumn 1954