Félicien David Symphony No.3; Christophe Colomb, etc.

[eschiss1]

Gallica also has the published (full orchestral/vocal/choral) score of Christophe Colomb, fwiw (here...)

[Alan Howe]

I have the feeling that large-scale statements were beyond David's capabilities. Charm simply simply isn't enough to sustain them. Even Le désert doesn't do much for me, I'm afraid. It takes a Berlioz to breathe life into these sorts of pieces. And David is no Berlioz.

[Mark Thomas]

And yet his operas Lalla Roukh and Herculanum have a lot to commend them.

[Alan Howe]

True. I think the hybrid ode/choral symphony form requires real genius to pull it off, whereas the more conventional number-opera is, for all its demands, more suited to David's talents. Mind you, compare Herculanum with Les Troyens and the gaping chasm between talent and genius is just as obvious...

[Mark Thomas]

Oh yes, I quite agree.

[Alan Howe]

I don't mean to dismiss David entirely, but I find him one of the least interesting of these 19th century re-discoveries on ES. Someone like Gouvy, for example, is another matter...

[Mark Thomas]

I certainly think that his talent was seriously over estimated in his lifetime, but his compositions are never less than attractive and, even if their appeal to the intellect is limited, they please the undemanding ear. On the whole I've enjoyed the recent expansion of David's recorded repertoire.

[Alan Howe]

I've enjoyed the journey, but feel a bit short-changed at the end of it.