Russian Spectacular

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It’s the second half of this disc that surely justifies the epithet ‘Russian spectacular’. I doubt whether you’d hear a more pulsating and brilliantly executed performance of the Lyapunov orchestration... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2021, 4 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 5 out of 5 stars (Recording) More…

Release Date: 30th Apr 2021
Catalogue No: BIS2412
Label: BIS
Length: 67 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Mussorgsky: A Night on the Bare Mountain

Work length12:22

$2.05

$3.85

$5.25

Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Lan Shui

Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

Work length33:54

$15.50

$19.50

$26.25

Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Lan Shui

Promenade I

Track length1:45

$1.50

$1.30

$1.75

I. Gnomus

Track length2:40

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Promenade II

Track length0:55

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

II. Il vecchio castello

Track length4:35

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Promenade III

Track length0:34

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

III. Tuileries [Dispute d'enfants après jeux]

Track length1:01

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IV. Bydło

Track length3:07

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Promenade IV

Track length0:44

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

V. Ballet of Unhatched Chicks in Their Shells

Track length1:16

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

VI. Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuÿle

Track length2:22

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

VII. Limoges, le marché [La grande nouvelle]

Track length1:25

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

VIIIa. Catacombæ [Sepulcrum romanum]

Track length1:57

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

VIIIb. Con mortuis in lingua mortua

Track length1:52

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

IX. The Hut on Fowl's Legs [Baba-Yagá]

Track length3:41

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

X. The Great Gate of Kiev

Track length6:00

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Balakirev: Islamey - Oriental Fantasy

Work length8:45

$1.00

$2.60

$3.50

Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Lan Shui

Borodin: Prince Igor (highlights)

Work length12:05

$8.00

$10.40

$14.00

Singapore Symphony Chorus, Singapore Symphony Youth Choir, Singapore Symphony Orchestra
Lan Shui

Polovtsian Dances. Introduction

Track length2:45

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. Wild Dance of the Men

Track length1:10

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. General Dance [1]

Track length2:10

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. Dance of the Boys [1]

Track length1:16

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. Gliding Dance of the Maidens

Track length1:43

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. Dance of the Boys [2]

Track length1:18

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. General Dance [2]

Track length0:24

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

Polovtsian Dances. Più animato

Track length1:19

$1.00

$1.30

$1.75

About
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About

This disc of orchestral showpieces features four of the five members of the Mighty Handful, a group of Russian composers who, during the second half of the 19th century, collaborated to create a distinct national style. The recorded works illustrate different aspects of their endeavors - both in terms of the musical means they employ and their subject matter. Orientalism is one of the typical features of the music of the group, as witness Balakirev's Islamey – employing material from the Caucasus Mountains - and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances, describing the revels of a nomadic eastern tribe during a 12th-century raid into the Russian lands.

The most individual of the group was Modest Mussorgsky, with a musical language both powerful and startlingly vivid in imagination. His celebrated Pictures from an Exhibition was composed in 1874 as a tribute to a recently deceased artist friend, and takes in such specifically Russian elements as the fairy-tale witch Baba Yaga and the Great Gate of Kiev. Originally written for the piano it is here performed in the 1922 orchestration by Maurice Ravel. Also by Mussorgsky, the opening Night on the Bare Mountain paints a witch's Sabbath in bold brushstrokes, and was re-orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov after the composer's death. It is his version, with more sumptuous orchestral textures and a tighter formal plan that is heard here, performed by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and Lan Shui.

Reviews

August 2021

It’s the second half of this disc that surely justifies the epithet ‘Russian spectacular’. I doubt whether you’d hear a more pulsating and brilliantly executed performance of the Lyapunov orchestration of Balakirev’s Islamey than this version. It’s such a tour de force that my immediate reaction was to press the repeat button so as to hear the track once again.

May 2021

Viewed overall this is a first-rate set, with sound to match.

Russian Spectacular

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