Disc 6 - Ballets vol 6

This disc completes the set of complete ballet scores.

First up is Pulcinella. IS conducting the Columbia SO in August 1965. Tracks as follows:

1. Overture 1:55
2. Serenata 2:26
3. Scherzino 20:34
4. Tarantella 4:18
5. Gavotte with two variations 9:30

Then Orpheus. Same orchestra, July 1964

Scene 1
6. Orphee 2:52
7. Air de danse 3:14
8. Dance of the angel of death 2:21
9. Interlude 2:01

Scene 2
10. The Furies 3:10
11. Air de danse - Interlude - Air de danse 3:33
12. Pas d'action 1:55
13. Pas de deux 5:03
14. Interlude 1:05
15. Pas d'action 2:34

Scene 3
16. Apotheose d'Orphee 2:53

As with Disc 2, I'm blogging this now because the Proms are currently featuring Orpheus, a work I hardly know at all. So my comments are based on the version I'm currently hearing on the radio, but it's clear the work is a fairly severe neo-classical piece. It's from 1947, but there's no wikipedia entry. From which I assume it's regarded as fairly minor, but if that's so, it just illustrates the standard of Stravinsky's other work.

It's a little hard to visualise it as a ballet. In this performance at least, the music is too consistently stately. But it's a lovely piece of music.