Tchaikovsky: Hamlet . Festival Overture Orchestral & Concertos Russian Chandos(Classics)

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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

(1840-1893)

Festival Overture on the Danish National Hymn, Op. 15

13:10

Hamlet, Op. 67bis

49:16

Overture and incidental music

Overture

10:03

ACT I

Scene 1: Mélodrame

1:34

Moderato assai

First appearance of Ghost

Scene 4: Fanfare

0:22

Allegro vivo

'A Flourish of Trumpets'

Scene 4: Mélodrame

0:41

Moderato assai

Appearance of Ghost to Hamlet

Scene 5: Mélodrame

3:07

Allegro giusto ed agitato

The Ghost tells Hamlet of his father's death

ACT II

Entr'acte

3:02

Allegro semplice

Prelude to Scene 1 and first appearance in the play of Ophelia

Scene 2: Fanfare

0:21

'A Room in the Castle' - 'Flourish'

First appearance of King, Queen, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Attendants

ACT III

Entr'acte

3:16

Andante quasi allegretto

Prelude to Scene 1 which features Hamlet's soliloquy

'To be or not to be'

10.

Scene 2: Fanfare

0:10

'A Flourish' - Enter King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and others

11.

Scene 2: Fanfare

0:15

'The Dumb Show enters'

12.

Scene 2: Mélodrame

2:04

Allegro giusto ed agitato

The Players enact the Scene of the Poisoning

ACT IV

13.

Entr'acte

7:12

Andante non troppo ('Elegy for Strings')

Prelude to Scene 1 - 'A Room in the Castle'

14.

Scene 5: Scène d'Ophélie*

2:24

Andantino

'Elsinore' - Ophelia's 'Mad Scene'

15.

Scene 5: Deuxième scène d'Ophélie*

2:07

Moderato

'Re-enter Ophelia, fantastically dressed with straws and flowers'

ACT V

16.

Entr'acte

5:27

Marcia. Moderato assai

Prelude to Scene 1 - 'A Churchyard'

17.

Scene 1: Chant du Fossoyeur†

0:54

Andantino

18.

Scene 1: Marche funèbre

4:36

Marcia. Moderato assai

'Funeral March' - 'Enter Priests and others in procession; the Corpse of Ophelia; Laertes and Mourners following: King, Queen and their Trains'

19.

Scene 2: Fanfare

0:21

Allegro giusto

'Trumpets sound'

20.

Scene 2: Marche finale

0:43

Allegro risoluto ma non troppo

62:35

Solo: Janis Kelly soprano*

Solo: Derek Hammond-Stroud baritone†

Orchestra: London Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Geoffrey Simon

January 1981

The performances here under Geoffrey Simon are excitingly committed and spontaneous; the orchestral playing is nearly always first-rate, and the digital recording has spectacular resonance and depth to balance its brilliance.

The Penguin Complete Guide

High praise originally greeted this enterprise, on all grounds – music, performance and recorded sound – and a decade on, there is little competition… a fascinating appendix for the eager Tchaikovskian.

Gramophone

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