La Tragédie de Salomé
Naxos, 2020
8/10
Listen to La Tragédie de Salomé
The Grammy winning conductor JoAnn Falletta is aligned with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra here, as they interpret the work of the overlooked French composer Florent Schmitt while retaining his impressionistic style that offered influences like Debussy and Wagner.
“La Tragédie de Salomé- Symphonic Poem, Op. 50 (1910 Version)” starts the listen with a mysterious entrance amid low sounds before elegant, majestic strings erupt with much sweeping beauty, and Part II follows with Susan Platts’ stunning mezzo-soprano vocals and the Women’s Choir Of Buffalo adding much to the dreamy, fluid instrumentation.
The back half of the listen offers “Oriane et le Prince d’Amour- Suite, Op. 83bis”, which alternates between firm, busy displays of orchestral power versus soft ebbs of delicate beauty, and “Légende, Op. 66 (Version For Violin And Orchestra)” exits the listen with Nikki Chooi’s agile violin steering the textures in and out of glorious, stirring sounds as well as tense bursts of wildness.
This is the 2nd album of Schmitt music that Falletta and company have taken on, as her knack for showcasing criminally underappreciated composers lands on a meticulous execution that retains all the passion, introspectiveness and boldness of the original.
Travels well with: Orli Shaham- Mozart Complete Piano Sonatas; Edward Smaldone- Once And Again