Charles Gounod Essentials

Charles Gounod Essentials

Apple Music Classical

The operas of Charles Gounod are sumptuous affairs, with ripe banks of rhythmic strings; soft, pillowy harmonies; and the fragrant (and distinctly French) melodic aura of doomed romance. Best known for the operatic retelling of tragedies such as Romeo and Juliet or Faust, Gounod crafts lilting phrases and arresting climaxes that bring out the high drama in these familiar tales, lending them fresh piquancy. His most familiar melody is perhaps the slowly unfolding Ave Maria, a magic spell of unwinding beauty he cast over Bach's Prelude in C Major.

IV. Sanctus. Andante

Pilar Lorengar, Heinz Hoppe, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, Franz Crass, Jean-Claude Hartemann, Chœurs René Duclos

5:16

Ave Maria (Arr. for Cello and Piano)

Kathryn Stott, Yo-Yo Ma

2:43

Ah, Je Veux Vivre

Sir Charles Mackerras, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Renée Fleming

3:43

Va! je t'ai pardonné - Nuit d'hyménée

Staatskapelle Dresden, Anna Netrebko, Nicola Luisotti, Rolando Villazón

13:23

Waltz

Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan

5:27

"Faites-lui mes aveux"

Elīna Garanča, Yves Abel, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna

4:21

Faust, Act I: Avant de Quitter Ces Lieux

Russia Philharmonia, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Constantine Orbelian, Russia Spiritual Revival Choir

4:14

No. 19, "Où suis-je?...O ma lyre immortelle"

Frédéric Chaslin, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, Sonya Yoncheva

7:20

O légère hirondelle

Enrique Mazzola, Olga Peretyatko, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester

3:06