Les noces (1919)

"First performed by the Ballets Russes in Paris in 1923, with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska, Les Noces (The Wedding) was reputedly Stravinsky's favourite of all his works. By any standard, it's one of his greatest, most startlingly original creations ... The version recorded here, sung in Russian with the voices of Ensemble Aedes and the instrumentalists of Les Siècles, conducted by Mathieu Romano. They make a superb case for what was after all the initial conception of Les Noces - leaner, earthier and more economical than the later familiar version, a sound world that seems to match the folk-inspired vocal writing even more convincingly".

Læs anmeldelse

"Recording of the month: The Ensemble Aedes and its various soloists ... admirably characteise their singing, one moment full of rough enthusiasm or raw emotion, the next beguilingly lyrical. Hearing Stravinsky's long-desired but originally unfulfilled version of Les Noces - so compellingly realised between Verbey and these fine musicians - is worth the price of entry alone".