The great Dutch maestro Bernard Haitink was in Paris to give a concert in the Auditorium de Radio France. He was conducting – with expert hands – the ONF and its Choir in a beautiful and off the beaten path programme.
They played 2 works by French composers, first Poulenc’s Gloria, with soprano Patricia Petibon as soloist, then the complete version of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé.
Poulenc’s Gloria, created in the early 60s under Charles Munch and very quickly recorded by Georges Prêtre, comprises 6 contrasting movements, some with the intervention of the soprano. I mostly enjoyed the 3rd, 5th & 6th movements: the dramatic Domine Deus, the dark and mysterious Domine Deus, Agnus Dei, and the final Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, Patricia Petibon being impeccable each time.
It is not that frequent to listen to the complete version of Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé, created a little more than a century ago under Pierre Monteux, but much more frequent to hear one of the Suites Ravel derived from his “choreographic symphony”. Luxuriant music, I enjoyed the 3rd part best, with the famous “Lever du jour“.
Bernard Haitink, Patricia Petibon, Luc Héry
Bernard Haitink, ONF
Bernard Haitink, Luc Héry
