Andrew Mogrelia, Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Naxos
8.574302-03 (2-disc set).
By John J. Puccio
Most classical music
fans probably know French composer Adolphe Adam’s (1803-1856) ballet Giselle
(1841) far better than they know his later ballet (1849) La Filleule des
fees (“The Fairies’ Goddaughter”). Why? Is La Filleule really that
much worse than Giselle? Well, as I remarked about a few other works by
Adam, sometimes the public is right. While the listener comes away from Giselle
humming memorable tunes, trying to remember any music at all from La
Filleule might be more difficult. Like most of Adam’s work, La Filleule
is pleasant enough as you’re listening to it but doesn’t exactly inspire one to
return to it too soon.
Be that as it may, Adam filled La Filleule des fees with charming, comfortable music, almost all of it lightweight. Like most of Adam’s ballets, this one can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates ballet, although I would personally have preferred a single highlights disc rather than what we have, the complete ballet on two CDs. This set may be better suited to the completist who must own everything Adam ever wrote or own every ballet ever written.
The plot of La Filleule is similar to that of Giselle (and, a little, to that of Sleeping Beauty), if a bit more involved. It features a beautiful girl who has three godmothers, two of them good and one of them evil. There’s a handsome prince involved and fiendish machinations by the villainous godmother, the usual stuff of fairytales. And as with so many other ballets, it all seems to take forever to unfold.
Nevertheless, Maestro Mogrelia is an experienced hand at this sort of thing and treats it with a deft precision, leading the Queensland Symphony in a congenial 128 minutes or so of music. The story unfolds in a brief prologue and seven tableaux or scenes. Mogrelia does his best to keep these various set pieces flowing congruently in some kind of compatible whole. This is especially important as it’s all dance music and on disc it has to hold together aurally, without the benefit of dancers and scenery on stage. I just wish there was more substance to the ballet, more big, lavish pieces to keep our attention. I’m afraid my mind kept wandering as I listened because after the first twenty minutes or so it began sounding rather the same to me.
OK, I quibble. The
second tableau (labeled simply “The Countryside”) warms up nicely and contains
some delightful little ditties, which Maestro Mogrelia handles with an easy,
airy touch. The music can be charming, if rather insubstantial. Certainly there
is nothing wrong with light music; everything can’t be Bruckner or Mahler (and
even Mahler is pretty lightweight by some standards). Anyway, Mogrelia keeps
reminding us throughout the ballet that this is dance music, after all, and he
does his best to provide enough contrasts of rhythm and changes of pace to help
us visualize the festivities on stage.
Interestingly, the tableaux get shorter (perhaps more concise would be a better description) as the music goes on. The ballet’s first hour contains two tableaux and the second hour five. Maybe someone had to remind him that at the pace he was going in the first half, he’d have a five-hour work on his hands unless he got on with it. Who knows. In any case, the second half picks up a little more steam, and Mogrelia deals with it accordingly, with a particular effectiveness in the more dramatic parts. There is no doubt that the conductor’s nimble leadership contributes much to the overall strengths of the music, and the Queensland Symphony respond to his direction accordingly well
In short, ballet fans will probably love this set. Others may find it a tad tedious.
Producer Murray Khoury made the recording at the ABC Studio, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in February 1996. Naxos previously released the set in their premium-priced Marco Polo line and are now issuing it on their lower-cost Naxos label. The sound is pretty good, though not in the audiophile category. The frequency extremes--the highest highs and lowest lows--seem slightly deficient, but they’re adequate for their purpose. The overall sonic quality is smooth and balanced, with a slightly soft character that probably benefits the music. Dynamics, dimensionality, and transparency, too, are adequate. It’s easy listening sound.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
By John J. Puccio
Be that as it may, Adam filled La Filleule des fees with charming, comfortable music, almost all of it lightweight. Like most of Adam’s ballets, this one can be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates ballet, although I would personally have preferred a single highlights disc rather than what we have, the complete ballet on two CDs. This set may be better suited to the completist who must own everything Adam ever wrote or own every ballet ever written.
The plot of La Filleule is similar to that of Giselle (and, a little, to that of Sleeping Beauty), if a bit more involved. It features a beautiful girl who has three godmothers, two of them good and one of them evil. There’s a handsome prince involved and fiendish machinations by the villainous godmother, the usual stuff of fairytales. And as with so many other ballets, it all seems to take forever to unfold.
Nevertheless, Maestro Mogrelia is an experienced hand at this sort of thing and treats it with a deft precision, leading the Queensland Symphony in a congenial 128 minutes or so of music. The story unfolds in a brief prologue and seven tableaux or scenes. Mogrelia does his best to keep these various set pieces flowing congruently in some kind of compatible whole. This is especially important as it’s all dance music and on disc it has to hold together aurally, without the benefit of dancers and scenery on stage. I just wish there was more substance to the ballet, more big, lavish pieces to keep our attention. I’m afraid my mind kept wandering as I listened because after the first twenty minutes or so it began sounding rather the same to me.
Interestingly, the tableaux get shorter (perhaps more concise would be a better description) as the music goes on. The ballet’s first hour contains two tableaux and the second hour five. Maybe someone had to remind him that at the pace he was going in the first half, he’d have a five-hour work on his hands unless he got on with it. Who knows. In any case, the second half picks up a little more steam, and Mogrelia deals with it accordingly, with a particular effectiveness in the more dramatic parts. There is no doubt that the conductor’s nimble leadership contributes much to the overall strengths of the music, and the Queensland Symphony respond to his direction accordingly well
In short, ballet fans will probably love this set. Others may find it a tad tedious.
Producer Murray Khoury made the recording at the ABC Studio, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in February 1996. Naxos previously released the set in their premium-priced Marco Polo line and are now issuing it on their lower-cost Naxos label. The sound is pretty good, though not in the audiophile category. The frequency extremes--the highest highs and lowest lows--seem slightly deficient, but they’re adequate for their purpose. The overall sonic quality is smooth and balanced, with a slightly soft character that probably benefits the music. Dynamics, dimensionality, and transparency, too, are adequate. It’s easy listening sound.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
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