Spanish music specialist and former Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic Juanjo Mena continues the series La MÃºsica de EspaÃ±a, which has seen the recording of some of the orchestral works of de Falla, Turina and AlbÃ©niz, with another important Spanish composer: Juan CrisÃ³stomo de Arriaga, nicknamed after his death as 'the Spanish Mozart'.The orchestral overture to 'Los esclavos felices' (The Happy Slaves) is all that remains of the opera the child prodigy Arriaga wrote aged 14. When Arriaga moved to Paris to study under FÃ©tis, GuÃ©rin and Baillot in 1821, he revised the overture, making changes to the instrumentation and removing a third theme group. It is the revised version heard on this recording. Air from MÃ©dÃ©e and Herminie form parts of the autograph volume 'Ensayos lÃrico-dramÃ¡ticos' (Lyric-dramatic essays) that completes this release, here sung by one of Scandinavia's most sought after concert singers, Berit Norbakken Solset. Tonally ambiguous Symphony in D minor (which begins and ends in D major) alongside the Overture in D major, which was written 'without having learnt the principles of harmony' are proof that Arriaga's premature death aged 19 was a 'sad loss to Basque music'.

Tracklist:

Los Esclavos Felices: Overture (2nd Version)
Herminie: No. 1, Le Jour Frappe Mes Yeux
Herminie: No. 2, Longtemps, Hélas!
Herminie: No. 3, Mais Sur Cette Arène Guerrière
Herminie: No. 4, Il N'est Plus... Dieux Cruels!
Herminie: No. 5, Se Peut-Il!
Herminie: No. 6, Tancrède Me Devra Le Jour
Overture In D Major, Op. 20
Médée: Hymen, Viens Dissiper Une Vaine Frayeur
Symphony In D Major: I. Adagio - Allegro Vivace
Symphony In D Major: II. Andante
Symphony In D Major: III. Minuetto. Allegro - Trio
Symphony In D Major: IV. Allegro Con Moto

UPC: 095115207727
Label: Chandos
Release Date: 2.1.19
Format: CD

Arriaga / Berit Solset / Bbc Philharmonic - Symphony in D Minor / Herminie (CD)