Souvenirs Ballet Suite, Les Illuminations

Overview

PHCD111

Samuel Barber SOUVENIRS/CANZONETTA FOR OBOE AND STRINGS

Benjamin Britten LES ILLUMINATIONS/YOUNG APOLLO –

The London Symphony Orchestra             Souvenirs (Ballet Suite)

The Scottish Chamber Orchestra

Jose Serebrier, conductor

Julia Girdwood, oboe     Canzonetta for Oboe and Strings

Carole Farley, soprano   Les Illuminations

Peter Evans, piano           Young Apollo

Samuel Barber and Benjamin Britten—two defining voices of 20th‑century music—are brought together in this vibrant Phoenix USA release. Barber’s Souvenirs Ballet Suite sparkles with wit and nostalgic charm, while his Canzonetta for Oboe and Strings, the final work of his career, receives a sensitive and authoritative performance. Britten’s Les Illuminations, set to the visionary poetry of Arthur Rimbaud, contrasts brilliantly with the youthful brilliance of Young Apollo. Together, these works form a compelling portrait of lyricism, color, and expressive imagination.

The “Canzonetta” for oboe and strings is the final work in Barber’s long and illustrious career. It received its world premiere at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center with Zubin Mehta conducting the New York Philharmonic; Harold Gomberg, soloist on December 17, 1981. The work was conceived as the second movement of a planned and subsequently unfinished oboe concerto, which was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic. The music publisher G. Schirmer asked composer Charles Turner, one of the few students Barber ever accepted, to provide an orchestration, based on Barber’s notes. It is that orchestration that was premiered and now heard on this premiere recording.

Benjamin Britten’s “Les Illuminations” for soprano and string orchestra, Op.18, was composed in 1939 to a many facedted and hard-to-understand text by the symbolist Arthur Rimbaud. The title might best be understood as “Visions” or “the light of truth”; the varied musical style lends great freedom to the words. It is also possible to enjoy the musical interpretation completely without the text-as the poet himself says at the beginning, he alone holds the key to it all!

José Serebrier — conductor

Carole Farley — soprano

Julia Girdwood — oboe

Peter Evans — piano

Samuel Barber — composer

Benjamin Britten — composer