Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra - Firebird
One of the most impressive calling cards in the history of music, The Firebird is a work of such brilliance that it could only have been written by Stravinsky, mixing the orchestral mastery of his Russian mentors with the rhythmic vitality of the revolutionary about to burst out of his shell. The musical language shifts between exotic, chromatic gestures to illustrate the supernatural dimension and the sing-song simplicity of folk song for the mortals creating a dazzling, evocative atmosphere.
A Moorish exoticism is also present in de Falla’s set of symphonic impressions of the great gardens of Granada and Cordoba, incorporating dance rhythms of Andalusia, whilst Chausson’s more personal orchestral picture postcard of nocturnal revelries is altogether more dreamlike and ethereal.