Lully: Thésée
Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Elaine Fine wrote in Classical Music: The Listener's Companion: "It's one of the supreme ironies of music history that French Baroque music in its grandest forms (opera, orchestral suites) owes its existence largely to one man, an obscure Italian musician who rose from the depths of poverty to become the all-powerful Maître de Musique at the court of Louis XIV. It's unclear where and how Lully learned to play the violin, but his exceptional talent was discovered by a plenipotentiary of the king, and he was engaged as a member of Les Petits-Violons, a kind of 'junior varsity' version of the more famous Vingt-Quatre Violons du Roy. …From there, he progressed rapidly to become director first of the King's ballets and later of his operas. … But what about Lully's music? … [C]ertainly the spectacular choral and ballet numbers have immediate appeal for modern-day audiences. … His vocal writing flows easily from récitative to aire without the abrupt breaks characteristic of Italian opera; in this regard the music is almost a pre-echo of Wagner's through-composed music dramas" (p. 529).
Elaine Fine wrote in Classical Music: The Listener's Companion: "It's one of the supreme ironies of music history that French Baroque music in its grandest forms (opera, orchestral suites) owes its existence largely to one man, an obscure Italian musician who rose from the depths of poverty to become the all-powerful Maître de Musique at the court of Louis XIV. It's unclear where and how Lully learned to play the violin, but his exceptional talent was discovered by a plenipotentiary of the king, and he was engaged as a member of Les Petits-Violons, a kind of 'junior varsity' version of the more famous Vingt-Quatre Violons du Roy. …From there, he progressed rapidly to become director first of the King's ballets and later of his operas. … But what about Lully's music? … [C]ertainly the spectacular choral and ballet numbers have immediate appeal for modern-day audiences. … His vocal writing flows easily from récitative to aire without the abrupt breaks characteristic of Italian opera; in this regard the music is almost a pre-echo of Wagner's through-composed music dramas" (p. 529).
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