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

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

5:16

Ave Maria (Arr. for Cello and Piano)

Yo-Yo Ma, Kathryn Stott

2:43

Ah, je veux vivre

London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Charles Mackerras, Renée Fleming

3:39

Va! je t'ai pardonné - Nuit d'hyménée

Anna Netrebko, Nicola Luisotti, Staatskapelle Dresden, Rolando Villazón

13:23

Waltz

Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic

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

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

4:14

Vin ou bière (Choeur/Wagner)

Paris Opera Orchestra, Marc Vento, Georges Prêtre, Chœurs de l'Opéra national de Paris, David Bell

5:13

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

Frédéric Chaslin, Sonya Yoncheva, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana

7:20

O légère hirondelle

Olga Peretyatko, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Enrique Mazzola

3:06