Search - Camille Saint-Saens, Andrew Mogrelia, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra :: Saint-Saëns: Javotte (Complete Ballet)

A pleasant surprise, Hard to find likewise

Aronne | 08/26/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As far as I can tell, Amazon has only sold a dozen or so of this issue of Andrew Mogrelia conducting The Queensland Orchestra in the only complete recording of Saint-Saens little known ballet, Javotte.



While it is true that you may purchase the CD's contents via MP3 download, I do not recommend doing so. The track separations work fine on the CD, but it would be impossible to listen to Javotte smoothly if all the MP3s were separate. An example would be the first five tracks: all overlap each other enough so that they must be burned together to sound right (i.e. without unintended gaps).



The sound quality of the album is pretty good (much better than some Marco Polo releases), and Mogrelia and his forces give a serviceable reading. The biggest issue here is the music.



Saint-Saens was an amazing composer. That said, not all of his music was of the greatest-masterpiece-ever-created grade. This music isn't as witty as Carnival of the Animals or as well constructed as his concertos, but the ballet Javotte certainly excites interest. On first examination, I condemned this work as one of those less-than-greatest-masterpiece-ever-created compositions. Upon further listening, however, Javotte contains music of great felicity.



Saint-Saens writes joyously with the delightful Javotte theme (track 1, 3, 29 & others), dramatically concerning Javotte's parents (track 2, 14, 25 & others), and even exotically (track 6). If you don't mind a deliciously tuneful ballet, this music will certainly make your purchase worth the while.



The four excerpts from the Act II ballet music from Parysatis come as a welcome makeweight. According to the liner notes, all are "as exotic in mood as much of the rest of the score."



Javotte may not be The Sleeping Beauty, but any ballet or Saint-Saens fan will enjoy the rays of musical sun recording here. I encourage anyone who loves Saint-Saens to locate this hard to find CD."

A rare jewel

Camil Moujaber | Owosso, Michigan USA | 05/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hard to locate CD indeed, but worth the trouble. To my knowledge, this complete version of the Javotte Ballet by Saint-Saens is only available on the Marco Polo label (presently Naxos), which is now extinct. It's a pity this Ballet doesn't get recorded more often. Javotte's music is on the lighter side, but colorful and refreshing. It is right behind Tchaikovsky's famous Ballets (Nutcracker, Sleeping beauty, Swan Lake), and on par with Delibes and Adam Ballets. Extracts from the Parysatis Ballet (which I never heard before) are added bonus on this CD. This Ballet's exotic/dramatic music reminds me of Saint-Saens 5th Piano Concerto, "Egyptian" (check it out if you like exotic classical music), and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade". All in all, locating and purchasing this hard to get CD was worth the trouble, and it now ranks at the top of my favorite classical CDs. Hope you'll make the effort to own it too!"