The Amazing Flight. Mechanical Ballet, H. 159

Scene 2 - A Propeller. Allegro vivo


  • Recorded: 17th August 2003
  • Record Place: The Dvořák Hall of Rudolfinum, Prague
  • First Release: 2004
  • (P) 2004 SUPRAPHON a.s.
  • Genre: Orchestral

Artists

  • music by: Bohuslav Martinů
  • conductor: Christopher Hogwood
  • musical group: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra

Album

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Christopher Hogwood

Martinů: Le Raid merveilleux, La Revue de cuisine, On tourne!

Catalogue Number: SU 3749-2
Published: 29th April 2004
Genre: Orchestral
Format: 1 CD
Like the majority of major composers, Bohuslav Martinů (1890 - 1959) did not resist the temptation, in his case in the second half of the 1920s, to respond in his own musical output to the then immensely fashionable wave of jazz inspirations which took Europe literally by storm, a flood from which music audiences have not ceased to this day to draw more than a few utterly enjoyable listening experiences. Though on the whole this was a rather less than momentous period in Martinů's life and career, a stage which can be determined with comparative precision to havelasted from 1926 - 1930, its artistic harvest does still attract attention by its bizarre character, as well as by the evident boldness of its idiom. There, the coupling of jazz with various neoclassical formulas marked in a highly original way most notably Martinů's early opera and ballet music. In that sense, Kitchen Revue, On tourne! and The Marvellous Flight, are all works which stand apart, in terms of styl, from the main stream of Martinů's music. In them, the composer invested in his scores a profusion of hyperbolic devices, caricatures, as well as a cornucopia of piquant elements interspersed throughout their librettos and music scores alike. Hence also the resilience of these works, their ever titillating, thrilling, inspiring impact - in fact, in nolittle measure corresponding to the lifestyle of our own time. The challenge posed by the Martinů ballet suites was taken up here by distinguished British conductor and specialist in preclassical music Christopher Hogwood. For its part, the Czech Philharmonic seized this opportunity with exceptional zest: the combination of unusual repertoire and prominent guest conductor spurred the orchestra up to an impressive tour de force.

Martinů and the 1920s infatuation with jazz: the magic of spontaneous inspiration.
Bohuslav Martinů
The Amazing Flight. Mechanical Ballet, H. 159
1. Scene 1 - A Bird. Andante moderato - Moderato 02:52
2. Scene 2 - A Propeller. Allegro vivo 03:02
3. Scene 3 - Maps. Poco andante - Piu moderato 03:02
4. Scene 4 - Reflector lamps and posters. Allegro vivo - Poco meno 03:21
5. Scene 5 - The Sea . 04:37
Bohuslav Martinů
The Kitchen Revue. Ballet for six instruments, H. 161
6. Prologue. Allegretto 00:36
7. Introduction. Tempo di marche 01:13
8. Dance of the twirling-stick around the pot. Poco meno 01:56
9. Dance of the pot and the lid. Allegro 00:48
10. Tango. Lento 04:01
11. Duel. Poco a poco allegro. Tempo di Charleston 02:09
12. Interlude. Lament of the pot. Allegro moderato 00:49
13. Funeral march. Adagio 03:08
14. Expansive dance .Tempo di marche 00:22
15. End of the Story. Allegretto 03:01
Bohuslav Martinů
Roll the Cameras! Ballet in 1 act, H. 163
16. Ouverture 04:34
17. The playing of the puppets. Allegretto 01:42
18. Dance of the fishs. Allegro vivo 03:06
19. Scene in a square. A lobster is in love with a fish - Dance 04:31
20. Dance of a pearl. Moderato 06:47
21. The diver abandons his equipment. Andante 01:12
22. A lobster falls in love with a perl and courts her .......... Allegretto 02:29
23. Finale. Allegretto moderato - Allegretto - Allegro 05:35