Maurice Ravel Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques Le réveil de la mariée 00:00 (orch. Maurice Ravel) Là-bas, vers l’église 01:27 (orch. Manuel Rosenthal) Quel galant m’est comparable 03:04 (orch. Manuel Rosenthal) Chanson des cueilleuses de lentisques 04:06 (orch. Manuel Rosenthal) Tout gai! 07:00 (orch. Maurice Ravel)
Manuel Rosenthal, countertenor Ensemble Orchestral de Paris John Nelson, conductor
Ravel’s Cinq Mélodies Populaires Grecques for voice and piano were written between 1904 and 1906. These songs are settings of anonymous texts translated from the Greek by the music scholar, critic and man of letter Michel Dimitri Calvocoressi, who was one of the composer’s most fervent admirers. Ravel himself produced orchestral accompaniments for two of the songs; the three others were orchestrated by Manuel Rosenthal. [...] The seductive nature of these brief yet colourful songs derives from the combination of typically ravelian harmonies with the folk-like texts. (From the CD booklet notes by Adélaïde de Place)