Put on your dancing shoes and join us for two weeks of ballet music. Starting in the 16th century to meet Catherine de’ Medici, and we continue to a golden age of ballet in Paris. Then we meet the Russian ballets, and finally, we will return to Paris for Ballets Russe in the years just before WWI. Our survey covers four hundred years of ballet strictly minding to the principles of Classical form with turnouts and arabesques all choreographed to music by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Tchaikovsky, and Gluck. Ballet changed in Paris on the evening of May 29, 1913, when Nijinsky danced from his pelvis to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Here we leave you plopped on the doorstep of Modern dance — that is music for another day.
A Modest Survey of Ballet Music, Part 1
Playlist
Episode 1
Attaingnant, Pierre: Basse danse La Magdalena
Ulsamer Collegium/Josef Ulsamer
Tanzmusik Der Renaissance • Dance Music of The Renaissance •
Musique De Danse De La Renaissance
Archiv Produktion 2533 111
2:11
Doulce Mémoire: Pavane fait au mariage de Monsieur de Vendosme
Doulce Mémoire and Denis Raisin-Dadre
Henri IV and Marie de Médicis – Messe de Mariage
Astree Naive E8808
2:23
du Caurroy, Eustache: Au Roy, victorieux guerrier
Doulce Mémoire and Denis Raisin-Dadre
Henri IV and Marie de Medicis, Messe de mariage
Astree Naive E8808
1:49
Monteverdi, Claudio: L’Orfeo:
Toccata; Sinfonia, “Scorto da te, mio nume” (Orfeo, “escorted by thee, my goddess” – “Ecco l’atra palude” – (chorus: “Here is Orfeo”, “Dove, ah, dove te’n vai,” shepherd at the end L’Orfeo: Moresca (Moorish song)
English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner
Monteverdi: L’Orfeo
DG Archiv 4192502
9:07
Lully, Jean-Baptiste: Le divertissement royal de Versailles, LWV 38:
Rondeau du Mariage Forcé Second Air (“Le Mariage Forcé”)
Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall, Andrew Lawrence-King
Lully: L’Orchestre du Roi Soleil
Alia Vox AV9807
5:02
Lully, Jean-Baptiste: Le bourgeois gentilhomme, LWV 43:
Ouverture; Gavotte; Canaries; Marche pour la Cérémonie Turque; 1er Air des Espagnols, Sarabande; 2ème Air des Espagnols, Gigue;
L’entrée des Scaramouches, Trivelins et Arlequins
Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall, Andrew Lawrence-King
Lully: L’Orchestre du Roi Soleil
Alia Vox AV9807
16:44
Lully, Jean-Baptiste: Alceste, LWV 50: Marche des Combattants;
Menuet; Loure pour les Pêcheurs; Les Vents; La Fête Infernale; 1er Air
Rondeau de la Gloire
2ème Air, Les Démons
Le Concert des Nations/Jordi Savall, Rolf Lislevand, Pedro Estevan, Marc Hantaï
Alia Vox AV9807
13:00
Episode 2
Purcell, Henry: The Fairy Queen, Act II: Prelude
English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner
The Fairy Queen
Archiv Produktion 419 221-2
0:50
Purcell, Henry: The Fairy Queen, Act II
Echo; No. 18 Dance for The Followers of Night
Act IV: Symphony
English Baroque Soloists/John Eliot Gardiner
The Fairy Queen
Archiv Produktion 419 221-2
9:34
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Orfeo ed Euridice
Aria: “Che Farò Senza Euridice?”
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Sir Roger Norrington, Andreas Scholl
Andreas Scholl – Heroes
Decca 4661962
3:38
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Orfeo Ed Euridice
“Dance of The Blessed Spirits”
Royal Opera House/Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux: Complete RCA Stereo Recordings
RCA Red Seal 19075816342
7:54
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Opera Orfeo ed Euridice Wq. 30, Danza degli spettri e delle furie.
Dance of the Furies. Allegro non troppo
Joyce DiDonato
EDEN
Erato 9029646515
3:54
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Ezio:
Scena ed aria Misera, dove son “Misera, dove son!”
Scena ed aria Misera, dove son “Ah! non son io che parlo”
Joyce DiDonato
EDEN
Erato 9029646515
7:07
Beethoven, Ludwig van: The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43 – Overture
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus Classical
DG 419 608 2
4:51
Beethoven, Ludwig van: The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43 – Introduction: “La Tempesta” Act 2: Pastorale
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus Classical
DG 419 608 2
4:47
Beethoven, Ludwig van: The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43 Act 2: Finale
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Beethoven: The Creatures of Prometheus Classical
DG 419 608 2
6:23
Gluck, Christoph Willibald: Orfeo Ed Euridice
“Dance of The Blessed Spirits” (excerpt)
Royal Opera House/Pierre Monteux
Pierre Monteux: Complete RCA Stereo Recordings
RCA Red Seal 19075816342
2:34
Episode 3
Auber, Daniel- Francois: Fra Diavolo, S. 18: Overture
Cincinnati Pops Orchestra/Erich Kunzel
William Tell & Other Favorite Overtures
Telarc 80116
7:50
Meyerbeer, Giacomo: Robert le diable,
Act 1: “Sicilienne – O fortune à ton caprice”
Symphonic Orchestra of the Teatro Verdi/Bryan Hymel, barione
Meyerbeer: Robert le diable
Brilliant Opera Collection
2:44
Gounod, Charles: Faust: Act V Ballet Music
Les Nubiennes; Adagio; Danse antique;
Variations de Cléopâtre; Les Troyens;
Danse du Phryné
Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Charles Mackerras
Ballet Suites
EMI Classics 7243 5 75222 2
14:51
Gounod, Charles: Faust:
Ballet Music “Waltz”
Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan
Famous Ballet Music: Gaîté Parisienne • The Sleeping Beauty • Coppélia • Les Sylphides
DG 459 445
5:27
Chopin, Frédéric: Les Sylphides
IV. Mazurka
Berlin Philharmonic/Herbert von Karajan
Famous Ballet Music: Gaîté Parisienne • The Sleeping Beauty • Coppélia • Les Sylphides
DG 459 445
3:10
Adam, Adolphe Charles: Giselle Act II, No.15
Peasant pas de deux, Entrance
Peasant pas de deux, Adagio
Peasant pas de deux, Var. I
Peasant pas de deux, Var. II
Peasant pas de deux, Var. III-01
London Festival Ballet Orchestra/Terence Kern
Giselle / La Bayadère – Act 4
Warner Classics 50999 9 68205 2
5:09
Offenbach, Jacques: Gaîté Parisienne:
Valse Lente, Allegro, Cancan, Quadrille – (Cancan)
The Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy
Gaîté Parisienne As Presented By The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo / L’Arlésienne Suites
Columbia Masterworks MS 6546
9:36
Offenbach, Jacques: Gaîté Parisienne: Bacarolle (excerpt)
The Philadelphia Orchestra/Eugene Ormandy
Gaîté Parisienne As Presented By The Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo / L’Arlésienne Suites
Columbia Masterworks MS 6546
2:24
Episode 4
Delibes, Leo: Coppélia
Prelude, Mazurka, Czardas, Waltz
Philharmonia Orchestra/Sir Charles Mackerras
Ballet Suites
EMI Classics 7243 5 75222 2
12:01
Berlioz, Hector: Roméo et Juliette, Op. 17, Part 2
No. 4, “Queen Mab,” “The Dream Fairy” (Scherzo)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Carlo Maria Giulini
Romeo and Juliet (The Orchestral Music)
EMI 4RL-32035
8:40
Wagner, Richard: Tannhäuser Overture
Act 1: Naht Euch Dem Strande … Der Venusberg
Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Opera House Chorus/ Giuseppe Sinopoli
Tannhäuser
DG 79 8876
22:07
Massenet, Jules: Le Cid Ballet Suite: Paris Opéra:
Catalane, Aragonaise, Navarraise
London Symphony Orchestra/Robert Irving
Le Cid Ballet Suite: Aragonaise
Richmond – B 19025
7:29
Episode 5
Verdi, Giuseppe: Don Carlo, Act II: Preludio
Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado
Verdi: Overtures and Preludes
DG 4791675
2:43
Verdi, Giuseppe: Macbeth, Act III: Ballet Music
Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado
Verdi: Overtures and Preludes
DG 4791675
9:15
Verdi, Giuseppe: Il Trovatore:
Vedi! le fosche (Anvil Chorus)
Coro del Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala di
Milano/Riccardo Muti
Choruses Overtures Ballet Music
EMI 47274 2
2:55
Adam, Adolphe: Giselle Act II, No.15:
Pas de deux (Giselle et Albrecht)
London Festival Ballet Orchestra/Terence Kern
Giselle / La Bayadère – Act 4
Warner Classics 50999 9 68205 2 0
5:36
St. Saens, Camille: Samson Et Dalila
3: Scene 2, Danse Bacchanale
London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus/ Colin Davis
Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila
Erato 3984247562
6:31
Bizet, Georges: Suite from Carmen: Opéra-Comique
Prélude, Act I – II (Les dragons d’Alcala), Entr’acte,
Act III. (Intermezo), Entr’acte, Act IV. (Aragonaise)
V. Séguedilla, Act VI. VI. Avec la garde montante, Act I
VII. Danse bohème, Act II
London Symphony Orchestra/Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Suites From Carmen – L’Arlesienne Suites 1 and 2
IMP Classics PCD 905
20:13
Bizet, Georges: Suite from Carmen: VII. Danse bohème, Act II (excerpt)
London Symphony Orchestra/ Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Bizet: Suite from Carmen, L’Arlésienne Suites Nos. 1 & 2
IMP Classics PCD 905
2:21