Egmont Cantate Lenore

Description

The two works by Beethoven and Reicha were recorded in 1991 and 2001, respectively. They are cleverly placed in a mirrored fashion. "Egmont" tells the story of the first nationalist of the Netherlands, Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522-1568), who ends up beheaded. The overture is well-known, but less so is the incidental music composed at the request of the director of the imperial court theaters. Beethoven highlighted the themes central to his concerns: freedom and consequently the condemnation of all forms of tyranny, as well as the value of the hero fighting for justice, the ideal of the French Revolution. The density of the writing evokes the "Eroica" Symphony. Gerd Albrecht was a remarkable opera conductor, and he conducts this powerfully orchestrated score with unwavering commitment. The work concludes, at Goethe's request, with a Victory Symphony that reprises the structure of the Overture. Settled in Paris in 1808, the Prague composer Antonin Reicha had students such as Berlioz, Liszt, Franck, and Gounod! His operas, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music testify to an audacious musician. And inexplicably underestimated. His ballad "Lenore" is based on one of the most tragic German texts: a young woman mourns her lover killed in war. He returns as a ghostly rider. He takes the young woman away in the dead of night to gallop to the realm of the dead. More influenced by Haydn's music – his oratorios – Reicha's work, admired by Beethoven, is passionately performed by a remarkable cast. (Jean Dandrésy)