Few more radiant expressions of choral singing exist than the opening of Poulenc’s Stabat Mater with Dutoit’s fine recording here restored to circulation and coupled with Lopez-Cobos conducting the energetic Gloria, also famous for its soprano solo.
The coupling appears for the first time on CD: Bizet’s Te Deum, the original LP coupling for the Gloria is a student work of the composer and is a rumbustious, thoroughly enjoyable choral/orchestral romp; moreover it is the only recording of the Te Deum currently available.
FRANCIS POULENC
Stabat Mater for soprano, mixed chorus & orchestra
Françoise Pollet, soprano
Choeur de Radio France
Chorus master: François Polgár
Orchestre National de France
Charles Dutoit
Gloria for soprano, mixed chorus & orchestra
GEORGES BIZET
Te Deum for soprano, tenor, chorus & orchestra
Sylvia Greenberg, soprano [Gloria, Te Deum]
Gösta Winbergh, tenor [Te Deum]
Choeur de la Radio Suisse Romande
Choeur Pro Arte de Lausanne
Chorus Master: André Charlet
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Jesús López-Cobos
Recording producers: Paul Myers, Christopher Pope (Stabat Mater); Paul Myers (Gloria, Te Deum)
Recording engineers: Philip Siney (Stabat Mater); James Lock, Colin Moorfoot (Gloria, Te Deum)
Recording locations: Salle Wagram, Paris, December 1994 (Stabat Mater); Victoria Hall, Geneva, January 1982 (Gloria, Te Deum)
‘rousing performance [Bizet] … Recorded sound is full and spacious [Poulenc]’ ClassicsToday.com