Ravel: Daphnis et Chloé

Originally written for Classical Source. Read original article HERE.

Ravel’s great score seems to bring out the best in performers and from Charles Munch’s 1955 Boston Symphony account, through Dutoit in Montreal to Roth’s period instrument version there is something to satisfy all tastes.

This LSO performance, which is their sixth recording of the work, derives from two concerts given in April 2024. It is of course a ballet, full of highly descriptive, sotto voce, languorous, exceptionally beautiful, evocative soundscapes, which also highlight the much rarer forte outbursts – even the celebrated Dawn that opens Part 3 is dynamically restrained – and more driven dances, including the Bacchanale that concludes the work.

From the exceptionally soft opening through to the forte outburst with wordless chorus it is obvious that Pappano is going to use a very wide dynamic range, which helps him delineate line and texture, where, helped by the sound and quality of playing, there is always absolute clarity, which includes the chorus (see below). He phrasing of the wonderful melodies is compelling, as in Dawn, he lets them sing in what seems a completely natural way and you do wonder how much his operatic background influenced him. Underlying all of this in every scene you can clearly hear the rhythms, which means the dance element is not lost. As in the concluding Bacchanale, when needed there is plenty of excitement and the tension never drops.

There are two criticisms. Tenebrae are a superb professional chorus, but on the night the orchestra numbered 110 to their 40 and despite Pappano’s meticulous balancing you do wonder if a larger group would have made more impact and the Danse grotesque de Dorcon could have been more grotesque. Nevertheless, all-in-all, this is another classic account.

As ever with LSO Live the DSD512 download is the one to go for, as it makes the best of the awful acoustic, bringing exceptional clarity, presence and projection. The running time however by this label’s standards is pretty short.

More from Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra