Bizet: Ode-Symphonie "Vasco da Gama"

[Mark Thomas]

Going through the stash of radio recordings given to me over the years I was surprised to find one which I'd quite forgotten about: Bizet's 1860 Ode-Symphonie Vasco da Gama. From the title you'd expect something along the lines of Félicien David's Le Desert or Christophe Colomb, with a narrator, some purely orchestral sections, chorus and maybe a soloist or two. Vasco, however, is more like a dramatic cantata, there is no narrator or stand-alone orchestral numbers, and the choir is led by a bevy of four soloists. It lasts about 25 minutes, but I've read online that this is the only completed part of a much larger work which Bizet planned, and there was to have been a narrator. The score was published posthumously (and is available at IMSLP). It's an attractive, if not very individual work. Joan Sutherland recorded it's brief Bolero.

The recording appears to be complete, but is unfortunately of very poor quality (lots of background noise, massed page turning, bumps and bangs and heavy bass) but good enough to get an idea of the music. The piece is sung in French, but the announcer's language is, I think, Romanian and it appears to be a recording of a jubilee concert in which Vasco is followed, of all things, by a complete performance of Gomes' Columbus. I can't decipher the names of most of the performers, but the orchestra is the Budapest Symphony Orchestra "George Enescu" conducted by Manuel ?, the choir appear to be the Chœur Henri Duparc, soloists include Carmen ? and Fernando ?, and Placido Domingo also gets a mention, though I can't really believe he took part in such an obscure production. Stupidly, in deleting the unwanted beginning of Columbus, I also deleted the announcement after Vasco. Despite several hours determined googling, I can find nothing whatsoever about the concert online.

Does anyone have any more information about this performance than I have gleaned? I'd love to know more, especially about the artists. Of course, as the work isn't available in a commercial recording, ideally someone will pop up with a better recording, but I suspect from the high level of "stage" noise that it's a bootleg of dubious origin.

[Alan Howe]

Budapest Symphony Orchestra "George Enescu"

I think that should be Bucharest, not Budapest.

One of the conductors of the Bucharest orchestra was Cristian Mandeal.

[Mark Thomas]

Yes, quite right - Bucharest of course. Thanks, Alan.

[Alan Howe]

I can't find any more details online - sorry.

[Mark Thomas]

No, there's nothing. Most unusual.