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Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote his incidental music to Gabriele d'Annunzio's 'mystery play' The Martyrdom of St Sebastian in 1911. Assisted by André Caplet, the original score was for large forces (including six horns, four trumpets and three harps) and combined cantata, opera and ballet.
In 1914 Debussy approved the compilation by Caplet of a four-movement orchestral suite of Symphonic Fragments, which was first performed under the baton of the young composer-conductor Edgar Varèse. Vocal and choral lines are replaced by instruments, and the musical language is filled with ecstatic harmonies.
The Court of Lilies: Sebastian intervenes at the execution of two young Christians.
Ecstatic Dance and Finale of Act 1: Dance of St Sebastian on burning embers, ending in a miraculous vision.
The Passion: The saint demonstrates his faith by dancing and narrating 'The Passion' of Christ in front of the Emperor.
The Good Shepherd: Sebastian's vision of Christ which accompanies his death in the grove of Apollo.
You can hear Vladimir Jurowski conduct the work on Wednesday 26 November at the Royal Festival Hall.
Click the links below to listen to the work.
Debussy - Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien >
More information and to book online>
The London Philharmonic Orchestra has an arrangement with Naxos Music Library which offers you the chance to hear the music before our performances. We hope it will help you find out more about unfamiliar works and give you a chance to get to know them better, or remind you how much you like pieces you've heard before. Either way, of course, we're also hoping that you'll enjoy the samples so much that you’ll come to hear the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform the music live. The samples, selected from recordings in the Naxos Music Library, are played by a wide variety of orchestras, conductors and soloists from around the world.
The tracks are accessible from the Performances section of this website. Select the year, month and date to see what is to be performed. Then click on the ‘More Info’ link for the concert. If music is available it will appear beneath the text about the works. To hear the tracks, you will need to switch on your computer's audio output device (Windows Media Player required).
Forthcoming Performances >
Naxos Music Library is a resource usually available only
through libraries, schools and colleges. The London Philharmonic
Orchestra is very grateful for support from NAXOS.
www.naxos.co.uk
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