Franck - Hulda (Freiburg Oper)

[eschiss1]

I think I've seen the 1960 offered for sale, is why I ask, hopefully in a legitimate RAI transfer.

[adriano]

You can purchase it from both CD and LP and Discogs

[adriano]

Isn't Franck's "Sabre Dance"perhaps related to the Russian theme in the third movement of Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto? Must check later on with a score...

[jdperdrix]

Thank you, Hadrianus! It's it indeed, Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto! I couldn't keep it out of my mind... How did Franck get this theme? (Tchaikovsky' 1st P.C. 1874 and Franck's Hulda 1879)

[Kevin]

Maybe it's just me but sometimes I hear a Tchaikovsky influence in some of Francks other works too.

[adriano]

I think Franck must have found this theme in a collection of folk music. Just at that time it had become "popular" in France to use exotic music.
Composer Louis-Albert Bourgault-Ducoudray was mainly responsible for importig Russian music to France. And he also imported music from the Far East - and from Brittany - and he became a specialist of Palestrina! He was responsible of the premiere of Balakirevs "Tamara" in Paris (in 1881). Incidentally, he also composed himself an opera about "Thamara".
20 years ago I recorded LABD's "Rhapsodie Cambodgienne" for Marco Polo... At that time in France quite a sensation. Even using folk themes having nothing to do with Russia, the piece sounds rather like Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev.
This is actually one of those composers with a most impossible name to remember - and to pronounce :-)

[eschiss1]

I think Hulda is supposed to be 1882-85 btw.

Also, the vocal score of B-D's Thamara is online here

[Alan Howe]

Now that we have the download of Hulda, what do friends think of the opera?

[jdperdrix]

You're right. Hulda is from 1881-1885, first performance Monte-Carlo, March 1894.

[Mark Thomas]

what do friends think of the opera?

I have only listened to it all the way through once and it became rather a marathon; there's something remorseless about the music, and in that respect it reminded me a lot of Wagner. There are many, many passages where I was really impressed by Franck's poetic imagination. It abounds with good melodies, filled as it is with impressive, sensuous, dramatic music which make the journey worthwhile but, for me at least, overlong. Maybe it's just too early to form a balanced view, but those are my initial impressions.

[Alan Howe]

I think it's quite a find - and it fills a major gap in our knowledge of Franck's late period when so much of his best music was written. The orchestral writing is gorgeously rich and there is plenty of memorable material: the opening is particularly striking. Like Mark, I found it a 'big listen', which means I've more work to do to get to grips with the opera as a whole, but my goodness aren't we fortunate to live in this great era of re-discovery?

I'm extremely grateful to all those who posted about this performance and alerted us to the broadcast. Kudos to you all!

[Kevin]

I agree with both Alan and Mark. Actually I was stunned of what I was hearing because just as with Meyerbeer I was told ''don't bother'' with their operas. Yes, the work is too long, Franck's pacing could've been a lot tighter. I enjoyed it all the same though as if I just discovered a hidden treasure nobody knew about.

[eschiss1]

The 1879-1882  manuscript 5-act (in process of being revised into a prologue+4 acts, but not yet the 1885 form? bit confused) first version of Hulda has been, I think, uploaded to BNF.

[mjmosca]

After listening to Hulda twice, I was certainly impressed with the work. The "pigeon holing" of Franck in some dusty organ loft seems more inaccurate than ever. Many thanks for the download. thank you.

[BerlinExpat]

Palazzeto Bru Zane are to record the thee-act abridged version of Hulda . It's the version first heard in Monte-Carlo in March 1894. It is to be a concert performance of the complete 3 act version for their French Opera series.