Cantates pour le Prix de Rome

Description

Until 1968, the Grand Prix de Rome marked the culmination of composition studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, having been the goal of those studies. The competition included a fugue and an eliminatory choir piece, followed by a cantata designed as an opera scene. The jury favored craftsmanship and conformity over originality, and Ravel's reputation as a member of the avant-garde likely explains why he never won the Grand Prix. This double CD features all the vocal works composed by Ravel for the Prix de Rome – five shorter pieces for choir and orchestra and three cantatas. Published for the first time more than half a century after Ravel's death, they have never enjoyed the popularity of his other youthful works, such as Pavane pour une infante défunte, Jeux d’eau, or the String Quartet. Far more than academic exercises, they deserve to be better known, especially when performed by soloists like Véronique Gens and Michael Spyres, with the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and Pascal Rophé.