Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Introduction
2. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): The Enchanted Garden Of Kaschei
3. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Apparition Of The Firebird, Followed By Ivan Tsarevitch
4. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Dance Of The Firebird
5. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Capture Of The Firebird By Ivan Tsarevitch
6. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Plea Of The Firebird; Apparition Of The Thirteen Enchanted Princesses
7. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Play Of The Princesses With The Golden Apples (Scherzo)
8. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Sudden Apparition Of Ivan Tsarevitch
9. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Chorovod (Round) Of The Princesses
10. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Sunrise; Ivan Tsarevitch Penetrates The Palace Of Kaschei
11. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Magical Chimes; Apparition Of The Monsters; Guards Of Kashchei And Capture Of Ivan Tsarevitch
12. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Dance Of The Suite Of Kashchei Enchanted By The Firebird
13. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Infernal Dance Of All The Subjects Of Kashchei
14. L'Oiseau De Feu (The Firebird): Dissappearance Of The Palace And Of The Magic Spells Of Kashchei; Animation Of The Petrified Knights; All Rejoice

Disc 2:

1. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - Introduction
2. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - The Augurs Of Spring; Dances Of The Young Girls
3. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - Ritual Of Abduction
4. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - Spring Rounds
5. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - Ritual Of The Rival Tribes
6. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - Procession Of The Sage
7. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - The Sage
8. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 1: Adoration Of The Earth - Dance Of The Earth
9. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 2: The Sacrifice - Introduction
10. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 2: The Sacrifice - Mystic Circles Of The Young Girls
11. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 2: The Sacrifice - Glorification Of The Chosen One
12. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 2: The Sacrifice - Evocation Of The Ancestors
13. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 2: The Sacrifice - Ritual Action Of The Ancestors
14. Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite Of Spring): Part 2: The Sacrifice - Sacrificial Dance (The Chosen One)

Disc 3:

1. Persephone: The Abduction Of Persephone - I. Stravinsky
2. Persephone: Persephone In The Underworld - I. Stravinsky
3. Persephone: Persephone Reborn - I. Stravinsky

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #119129 in Music
• Released on: 1999-06-01
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: .42 pounds

Amazon.com essential recording
Here's a Stravinsky set to raise eyebrows. Where is Petrouchka, the standard coupling for Firebird and Rite in collections of the great early Stravinsky ballet scores? Instead, we get the too rarely heard Perséphone, and it's the highlight of the set. Premiered in 1934 to a text by André Gide, Perséphone is a retelling of the Greek fertility myth of the earth's winter death and spring renewal. The tale drew from Stravinsky some of his most delicate and beautiful music in the neoclassical style of the period, a sibling to the ballets Apollo and Orpheus and the cantata Oedipus Rex (it also includes string figures that recall those works).

Stephanie Cosserat, in the title role, is a youthfully persuasive narrator, very different from Vera Zorina's oracular reciter on Stravinsky's own recording. Stuart Neill's tenor is a big plus, and the orchestra and chorus play and sing with involvement. Michael Tilson Thomas brings out the cool tenderness of the score, and the recording, made at a live performance, is truthful. His Firebird is lushly dramatic, and the Rite's barbaric thrust is leavened by some soulful wind playing. Recorded competition in the two ballets is fierce (along with Gergiev's recent Firebird on Philips, there are classic versions by Ansermet, Dorati, Haitink, and others, including the composer) but Perséphone makes this set an attractive proposition. --Dan Davis