Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra – Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta (2020) [FLAC 24bit/96kHz]

Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra – Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen, Sinfonietta (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:59:13 minutes | 2,04 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © LSO Live

Melodious and charming, The Cunning Little Vixen is a work rooted in Czech history and folk music; a sentimental journey through the cycles of life. For Sir Simon Rattle, it’s a deeply personal and emotional work. “It’s the piece that made me want to become an opera conductor… and still one of the pieces that reduces me to tears more easily than any other,” says the LSO’s Music Director. Recorded with an outstanding cast during semi-staged performances, this recording is the second in an LSO Live series showcasing acclaimed collaborations between Rattle and the celebrated stage director Peter Sellars. Towering fanfares open Janácek’s Sinfonietta, an ode to the composer’s hometown of Brno in the now Czech Republic. It’s a portrait composed for a national celebration of Slavic culture, with Janácek’s love of musical tradition evident in dancing strings and celebratory brass.

The author’s absolute masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen speaks of nature and the circle of life. It’s a unique piece set in an idyllic forest land, a joyous fable of animals with a sad ending. There is little theatricality in this naturalist description of alarming freshness and innocence which sees the singers transformed into animals: foxes, frogs, mosquitos, dogs, crickets, grasshoppers, hens and cockerels. Janáček had long observed nature in order to compose this unique work where evocative power is overcharged with tenderness.

Sir Simon Rattle had known this work since his youth when he played the celesta part during a student production at the Royal Academy of Music in which he also directed the backstage choir. An experience that changed his life so much that he desired to direct operas for himself. Recorded during two evening performances at the Barbican Centre in London in 2019, The Cunning Little Vixen was presented in a semi-theatrical version by Peter Sellars with an international distribution in which each made an effort to master the difficult Czech language with a subtle musicality that closely adheres to the rhythm and accentuation.

Sir Simon Rattle directs this opera with a joyous adolescence, bringing out a million and one details from this glittering score. Generously, the editor includes a complimentary offering, one of the most extraordinary of Janáček’s masterpieces, the radiant Sinfonietta in which the sumptuous initial fanfares glorify the town of Brno in which the composer was born. © François Hudry

Tracklist:
Disc 1 (01:02:51)
1. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I: Prelude (03:16)
2. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Gerald Finley – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene I: Dostaneme bóřku (01:33)
3. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Peter Hoare, Maeve McAllister, Eben Watson & Olivia Solomou – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene I: Kmotřenko, zakoncertovala si také (01:52)
4. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley & Saoirse Exelby – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene I: Mami! (01:40)
5. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene I: Pantomime (03:23)
6. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Interlude: (Proměna) (02:03)
7. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, Paulina Malefane & Anna Lapkovskaja – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene II: To čučiš, Lapáku!? (02:51)
8. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, Paulina Malefane, Poppy Dawid & Inji Galliet-Jakoby – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene II: Že nevíš, co máme? (01:03)
9. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Lucy Crowe – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene II: Pantomime (02:10)
10. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Interlude: (Svitáni) (02:17)
11. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Sophia Burgos, Anna Lapkovskaja, Peter Hoare & London Symphony Chorus – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene II: Mělas dělat podlivámě! (03:06)
12. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Gerald Finley, Sophia Burgos & Paulina Malefane – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act I, Scene II: Zbabělče, podivé se, jeli už mrtvá? (01:48)
13. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II: Prelude [2] (01:00)
14. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Jan Martiník & London Symphony Chorus – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene III: Ach! (01:47)
15. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Interlude: (Proměna) [2] (01:18)
16. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley & Jan Martiník – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene IV: Ano, ve Stráni bude daleko lépe! (00:46)
17. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, Jan Martiník, Peter Hoare & Jonah Halton – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene IV: Bývalo, bývalo, dávno už neni (03:26)
18. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley & Jonah Halton – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene IV: Domů? Pro ten šňupec tvýho spaní? (01:30)
19. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Interlude: (Proměna) [3] (00:55)
20. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Peter Hoare – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene V: Bud’to mám těžiště pohyblivé (03:19)
21. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Jan Martiník – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene V: Pomni, abys byl dobrým mužem! (02:17)
22. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, Jan Martiník & Peter Hoare – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene V: Memnesthó anér agathos einai (01:17)
23. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & London Symphony Chorus – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Interlude: (Proměna) [4] (01:04)
24. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Sophia Burgos & London Symphony Chorus – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Bóžinku, ten je hezké! (01:44)
25. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Lucy Crowe – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Kradla jsem! (03:10)
26. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe & Sophia Burgos – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Zlatohřbítek, lišák s kroužkovými pesíky, z Hluboké zmoly (01:18)
27. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe & Sophia Burgos – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Jsemli opravdu tak krásná? (03:49)
28. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe & Sophia Burgos – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Pusťte mě! (03:58)
29. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Sophia Burgos, Paulina Malefane & Irene Hoogveld – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Kdybyste věděli, co já viděla (00:50)
30. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Sophia Burgos, Paulina Malefane & London Symphony Chorus – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act II, Scene VI: Když je to tak (02:21)

Disc 2 (56:22)
1. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III: Prelude [3] (02:06)
2. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Hanno Müller-Brachmann – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VII: Dež sem vandroval (01:36)
3. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley & Hanno Müller-Brachmann – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VII: Tož co, Harašto, máš se dobře? (03:51)
4. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Sophia Burgos, Theo Smith & LSO Discovery Voices – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VII: Běži liška k Táboru (01:44)
5. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe, Sophia Burgos & Hanno Müller-Brachmann – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VII: Kolik jsme to měli děti!? (02:37)
6. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Lucy Crowe & Hanno Müller-Brachmann – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VII: Nůšo důle! (03:19)
7. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Interlude: (Proměna) [5] (02:30)
8. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, Anna Lapkovskaya & Peter Hoare – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VIII: A kde otec Pásek? (02:14)
9. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Gerald Finley, Anna Lapkovskaya & Peter Hoare – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene VIII: Do hroma! (03:57)
10. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Interlude: (Proměna) [6] (01:06)
11. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Gerald Finley – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene IX: Neříkal jsem to? (03:04)
12. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Gerald Finley – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene IX: A přece su rád (02:47)
13. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Gerald Finley – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene IX: Hoj! Ale není tu Bystroušky! (00:55)
14. Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra & Olivia Solomou – The Cunning Little Vixen (Příhody lišky Bystroušky), JW I/9, Act III, Scene IX: Totok nésu já (01:14)
15. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – Sinfonietta, Op. 60, JW VI/18, “Sokol Festival”: I. Fanfare. Allegretto – Allegro – Maestoso (02:15)
16. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – Sinfonietta, Op. 60, JW VI/18, “Sokol Festival”: II. The Castle, Brno. Andante – Allegretto – Maestoso – Tempo I – Allegretto (05:51)
17. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – Sinfonietta, Op. 60, JW VI/18, “Sokol Festival”: III. The Queen’s Monastery, Brno. Moderato – Con moto – Tempo I – Prestissimo – Moderato (05:27)
18. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – Sinfonietta, Op. 60, JW VI/18, “Sokol Festival”: IV. The Street Leading to the Castle. Allegretto – Adagio – Presto – Andante – Presto – Prestissimo (02:55)
19. Sir Simon Rattle & London Symphony Orchestra – Sinfonietta, Op. 60, JW VI/18, “Sokol Festival”: V. The Town Hall, Brno. Andante con moto – Maestoso – Tempo I – Allegretto – Allegro – Maestoso – Adagio (06:54)