Massenet orchestral works from Naxos

[Joachim Raff]

Phèdre Overture has been performed several times before by conductors such as Cluyens, Monteux, Jarvi, Paray and Wolff. So its a piece that is certainly not unsung but has to be respected.  I like to do my own little challenge by listening to past versions and comparing. I do think Tingaud is certainly one of the great new conductors doing the rounds and he has a good relationship with the RSNO. Not much you can get wrong with these lollipops apart from making them boring. Tingaud definitely conducts his band with vigour and excitement. The sound is top notch from Naxos.
I still prefer Paray overall for this piece but by a whisker. I also loved listening to the old recordings from Monteux and Cluyens. I enjoyed my Saturday doing my own little challenge 

[Alan Howe]

Phèdre Overture has been performed several times before by conductors such as Cluyens, Monteux, Jarvi, Paray and Wolff. So its a piece that is certainly not unsung

Just because it's been done by a handful of conductors several decades ago* doesn't make it sung. The Phèdre overture is most definitely unsung. That's why we're discussing it here!

*Monteux died in 1964, Cluytens in 1967, Wolff in 1970 and Paray in 1979! So we're talking about four recordings, all over forty years old!

[sdtom]

Since I have none of this material it is a double treat for me. I like it very much

[TerraEpon]

Having listened to this this morning, can confirm it's a really nice disc.

[semloh]

Yes, what a really enjoyable disc. Les Érinnyes is beautiful, and the Phèdre Overture a real 'lollipop'.

[TerraEpon]

Listening to it again having the CD, yeah this is just fantastic stuff, great to finally fill out Massenet's orchestral catalog a bit more.

[Ebubu]

I believe that it's now the only surviving Massenet opera for which a recording, commercial or "off-air", is not available.

Almost.  There's La Grand-Tante, of which we only know an aria recorded by Rosamund Illing, under the baton of Richard Bonynge (quite surprising that Bonynge didn't ever manage to record the whole thing !).

[eschiss1]

Bru-zane's article on the latter describes the manuscript score as lost in a fire, so I wonder if we'll ever have a complete recording of that (a real one, I don't mean based on a reconstruction from the vocal score.)

(At least the published vocal score @ IMSLP gives the instrumentation of each number and helpfully often notes in the piano part what orchestral part is meant, so some of that reconstruction though probably not all is already helped along )