C. Gounod - Faust - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

In 1937, a Viennese antiquarian sells a comprehensive lute tablature, which then ends up in Lviv in today's Ukraine. For decades, the tablature is out of reach and subject to wild speculation. Today, it once again reveals European Renaissance masterpieces, presented here on this album. Bernhard Hofstötter's lute playing has been described as Inchadeptly combining technical ease with a masterful sense of phrasingInch (Lute Society of America) and demonstrating Incha refined rhythmic sensibility and understandingInch (International Record Review). His recordings of the music of the 18th century lute virtuoso Silvius Leopold Weiss have been hailed as containing Inchsome of the most sympathetic and beautiful Weiss-playing yet committed to discInch (Gramophone). To date, Hofstötter has published four solo albums which shine an imaginative and colorful light on the lesser known musical landscapes of the 17th and 18th centuries. His recordings have been met with international critical acclaim.

This product is an authorized manufactured on demand CD-R

The international success of Faust after it's premiere in 1859 completely overshadowed all of Gounod's subsequent operas. He had known Goethe's masterpiece for two decades and brought to the text his gifts for memorable melody and rich orchestration. Added to this, the plot of Faust's ageing and the heroine Marguerite's redemption, offered the opportunity for the most spectacular stage effects. Heard here in it's 1864 London version with an additional air and without spoken dialogue or ballet, Faust represents 19th-century French opera at it's peak.