London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra
Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Sylvia McNair, Ann Murray, Nathalie Stutzmann, Leslie Caron
Repertoire
Claude Debussy: Le Martyre de Saint-Sébastien
I. La Cour des lys/The Court of Lillies
No. 1: Prélude. Lent – “Frere, que sera-t-il le monde”
No. 2: “Sébastien!”
No. 3: Danse extatique de Sébastien sur le charbons embrases. Assez animé – “Hymnes, toute l’ombre s’efface”
II. La Chambre magique/The Magic Chamber
No. 1: Prélude. Très modéré
No. 2: “Je fauchais l’epi de froment” 2:17
No. 3: “Qui pleure mon enfant si doux” 5:40
III. Le Concile des faux dieux/The Council of the False Gods
No. 1: Prélude. Modéré
No. 2: “Pàián, Lyre d’or, Arc d’argent!”
No. 4: “Avez-vous vu celui que j’aime?”
No. 5: “Ne pleurez plus!”
No. 6: “Io! Io! Adoniastes!”
No. 7: “Il est mort, la bel Adonis”
IV. Le Laurier blesse/The Wounded Laurel
No. 1: Prélude. Sombre et lent
No. 2: “Il est la, le Pasteur. Regardez”
No. 3: “Helas!”
V. Le Paradis/Paradis
No. 1: Interlude. Modéré
No. 2: “Gloire!”
The first production of Debussy's ballet Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian in 1911 was a resounding failure with Paris audiences, and its whirlpool of blatant homoeroticism and questionable taste resulted in a ban from the archbishop of Paris. The result of a chaotic collaboration between three controversial artists (Debussy, D'Annunzio, and Ida Rubinstein), Sebastian is a true curiosity--I, a lover of Debussy, find it unendurable. This fine performance by Michael Tilson Thomas and the London Symphony Chorus and Orchestra is of the concert version.Joshua Cody