Oratorio de Noël

Gounod and Saint-Saëns were born some fifteen years apart and shared a mutual respect. Gounod was delighted when Saint-Saëns eventually achieved the recognition he deserved in 1883, writing: “He is simply a thoroughbred musician: he draws and paints with the free hand of a master; if the definition of being oneself is not imitating anyone else, then that fits him perfectly.” One of the influences for the Christmas Oratorio by Saint-Saëns, premiered in 1858 at the église de la Madeleine church where he was the resident organist, was Gounod’s Mass for St Cecilia, written a few years earlier. Symphony No 1, which was composed at around the same time, showcases Gounod’s distinctive talent as a writer of melodies, while also expressing an energy and sense of drama that would subsequently bear fruit in his operas. Hengelbrock reacquaints himself with a familiar composer whose Faust he conducted to great acclaim in 2022. 

Production Orchestre de chambre de Paris
En collaboration avec le Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française et l’Académie de l’Opéra national de Paris