LEGENDS

Program

One could hardly wish for a more appropriate subject for a work of sacred music than Cecile, patron saint of musicians. Liszt and Gounod’s shared affection for the martyr was not the only thing the two men had in common, both having been tempted by an ecclesiastical vocation. This perhaps also provided the religious inspiration that characterises Gounod’s St Francis of Assisi, an extraordinary oratorio, the manuscript of which was discovered only recently and that was subsequently a huge success at its revival performance at the Paris Philarmonie two seasons ago. This new concert at the Opéra de Rouen Normandie provides the opportunity to celebrate both the bicentenary of the birth of Gounod and the release of the new recording on the naïve label.

1h40 with interval