Cantates pour le Prix de Rome

"From 1803 until as recently as 1968 the Prix de Rome was a highly prestigious and much-coveted annual award for French composers ... Ravel's growing reputation as a member of the avant-garde was therefore hardly to his advantage, and may explain why he never won the coveted Premier Grand Prix ... The main course, as it were, of this release consists of the three cantatas, Myrrha (1901), Alcyone (1902) and Alyssa (1903), which BIS group together on Disc 1. However, it's probably logical to deal first with the five short choruses, gathered together on Disc 2, since these, together with the fugues, were positioned as the first hurdle which a Prix de Rome contestant had to clear ... All the solos are well done and the Choeur et Orchestre National des Pays de La Loire provide accomplished performances ... When it comes the three cantatas, BIS have really pushed the boat out with the roster of soloists. These include Véronique Gens ... Pascal Rophé leads performances that put the best possible case for all three scores ... These unfamiliar early Ravel works are shown in the best possible light on these SACDs".

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"Editor's choice - June 2022: Given the stylistic and harmonic complexity of the three main cantatas here (Alyssa, Alcyone and Myrrha), it's easy to see why the panel at the Paris Conservatoire were rather flummoxed by the young Ravel's vaulting ambition when he unsuccessfully submitted them for their prestigious composition-competition. It's fascinating to hear the foreshadowings of later works like Shéhérazade and occasional echoes of Wagner (specifically Tristan) in these scores, and all seven well-contrasted soloists sound fully invested in text and drama throughout".

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"Editor's choice: What a delicious surprise this has turned out to be ... What is beyond doubt in the three cantatas and handful of elaborated choruses presented here is his [Ravel] supremely affecting way with the voice above and beyond his already considerable orchestral skills ... The weightiest and most eye-watering of the three big pieced is 'Myrrha' after Byron ... with Michael Spyres and Vannina Santoni rising most thrillingly to the rapture of it all. Pascal Rophé and the Choeur et Orchestre des Pays de la Loire make this whole disc a thoroughly authentic affair ... Absolutely fascinating, then, and always seductive".