Robert Irving: the pre-eminent ballet conductor of his day on home turf and vividly captured in Decca’s superbly life-like, late mono-sound with his complete recordings for that label.
Despite bringing the orchestras of both The Royal Ballet and the New York City Ballet to celebrated peaks of brilliance in execution, the conductor Robert Irving left no more than a handful of recordings, nearly all made in the 1950s and 60s. They display his unfailing sensitivity to the needs of dancers, sometimes adopting slower tempi than concert performances but deftly maintaining a lively momentum. The works presented here are a mere fraction of the many important ballet scores Irving was closely associated with during his years at Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Ballet and the recordings amply demonstrate his gifts for musical nuance and spry agility.
Four Decca LPs have been compiled in their entirety for this newly remastered release. The first of them was recorded in July 1952: selections from Massenet’s ‘Le Cid’ and Constant Lambert’s polished arrangement of music by Meyerbeer for Frederick Ashton’s ballet ‘Les Patineurs’. In the early spring of 1953, there followed another Ashton commission, Lambert’s own ‘Horoscope’ and then the two suites from Walton’s ‘Façade’, interleaved together in the composer’s own recommended ordering.
On two days in February 1955, Irving and the ‘New Symphony Orchestra’ (a studio band drawn from London’s ever-whirling pool of talented orchestral freelancers) set down a pairing of Gluck and Grétry from the golden age of French classical ballet, the one grave and gracious (including the celebrated ‘Dance of the Blessed Spirits’), the other more lively and comic in spirit. Irving’s short career with Decca came to a close later that year with ‘The Lady and the Fool’, an arrangement by Sir Charles Mackerras of lesser-known Verdi numbers for a ballet at Sadler’s Wells created by John Cranko.
‘An attractive record… spirited, elegant and colourful performances. The recording is excellent.’ Gramophone (Massenet/Meyerbeer)
‘The LSO is on top form, and is persuaded by Robert Irving to give some parts of the enchanting Façade suites more point than I remember hearing ever before … [a] recording of the very highest quality: this is the best to be had.’ Gramophone (Lambert/Walton)
‘The Suite is perhaps the best possible introduction to [Gluck] … Ears cannot resist its miraculous simplicity. The disc is a good one, especially in the delivery of a smooth relaxed orchestral sound’
High Fidelity (Gluck/Grétry)
CD 1
CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD VON GLUCK: Ballet Suite No. 1 (arranged by Felix Mottl)
ANDRÉ GRÉTRY: Céphale et Procris – Ballet Suite (arranged by Constant Lambert)
JULES MASSENET: Le Cid – Ballet Music (Act II)*
GIACOMO MEYERBEER: Les Patineurs (arranged by Constant Lambert)*
CD 2
CONSTANT LAMBERT: Horoscope – Ballet Suite
WILLIAM WALTON: Façade – Suites Nos. 1 & 2
GIUSEPPE VERDI: The Lady and the Fool – Ballet Suite (arranged by Sir Charles Mackerras)*
New Symphony Orchestra (Gluck, Grétry, Verdi)
London Symphony Orchestra (Massenet, Meyerbeer, Lambert, Walton)
Robert Irving
*FIRST CD RELEASE ON DECCA
Fast Delivery and professional packaging
Our long-standing relationships with UPS FedEx DHL and other international carriers gives us the ability to provide various shipping options. Our warehouse personnel is highly-skilled and will package your items according to our precise and exact specifications. Prior to shipping, your goods will be thoroughly examined and secured. We ship to hundreds of thousands of customers each day in different countries. This shows our commitment to becoming the biggest retailer online in the world. Warehouses and distribution centers can be found in Europe and the USA.
Note: Orders that contain more than one item will be assigned a separate processing period for each item.
Prior to shipment, we will examine thoroughly the items you've purchased. The majority of orders are shipped within 48 hours. The delivery time will be between 3-7 days.
Returns
We are not able to manage the stock in our warehouse and factory. The actual inventory may fluctuate at any time. It's possible that the stock may run out after the order has been made.
Our policy is valid for 30 days. If 30 days have gone by since your purchase and we are unable to offer an exchange or refund.
The item cannot be used and in its original condition. The item must be returned in its original packaging.
Related products
