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Arthur Honeggers Jeanne d´Arc au bûcher

Thu, Jan 27, 2022

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher is one of the most inventive oratorios ever composed, constantly flitting between styles and colours. It follows the historic French heroine in the hours leading up to her execution.

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Indeed, the run-up to her death sentence is reconstructed as if in a crime novel. Paul Claudel's lively libretto contrasts Jeanne with an assorted lot of strange and wonderful characters. More than enough reason for Honegger to open up a colourful paintbox: the work features a succession of choral passages infused with spirituality, cubist-like blocks of sound and even bits of material reminiscent of the music hall. This is grist to conductor Stéphane Denève's mill, who is a leading authority on French music and a regular guest with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; together with two choirs and a variety of soloists and actors, he realized a compelling and moving Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher.

Performers
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Stéphane Denève, conductor

Judith Chemla (Jeanne d’Arc)
Jean-Claude Drouot (Frère Dominique)
Christian Gonon (récitant)
Adrien Gamba-Gontard (récitant)

Claire de Sévigné, soprano
Christine Goerke, soprano
Judit Kutasi, mezzo-soprano
Jean-Noël Briend, tenor
Steven Humes, bass

Rotterdam Symphony Chorus
Wiecher Mandemaker, chorus master

Netherlands Children’s Choir
Wilma ten Wolde, chorus master

Speellijst
01.Prologue7:36
02.Scène I. Les Voix du Ciel2:10
03.Scène II. Le Livre3:39
04.Scène III. Les Voix de la Terre4:11
05.Scène IV. Jeanne livrée aux bêtes9:21
06.Scène V. Jeanne au poteau3:29
07.Scène V. Jeanne au poteau5:13
08.Scène VII. Catherine et Marguerite3:16
09.Scène VIII. Le Roi qui va-t-à-Rheims11:26
10.Scène IX. L’Épée de Jeanne15:49
11.Scène X. Trimazô0:51
12.Scène XI. Jeanne d’Arc en flammes12:09
 Totale speelduur79:16

Live-opname, 27 & 28 september 2018, Concertgebouw

Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher door het Concertgebouworkest o.l.v. Stéphane Denève
Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher by the Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Stéphane Denève(photo: Jan Hordijk)