Episode 2
With Napoleon's own musicianship and tastes in question, is there any place for him as an impresario? Composers' views were divided, as Donald Macleod finds.
With Napoleon's own musicianship and taste severely in question, could there be any rightful place for him as an impresario? Donald Macleod hunts out the composers who benefited from Napoleon's cultural largesse, including the Italian whose success in a competition to commemorate the life of a Republican military hero was to lead to great things. Plus, there's another glimpse into the world of Revolutionary singing, as Laura Mason explores the legends surrounding the creation of the piece destined to become France's national anthem.
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Music Played
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Claude Balbastre
Marche des Marseillais et 'Ca ira'
Performer: André Isoir (organ)
- Caliope: CAL9917.
- 1.
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Giovanni Paisiello
Marche Funebre a l'occasion de la mort du General Hoche
Performer: Toulouse Capitole Choir, Performer: Touse Capitole Orchestra, Performer: Michel Plasson (conductor)
- EMI: CDC74470.
- 15.
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Christoph Willibald Gluck
Alceste end of Act 2
Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo-soprano), Performer: Monteverdi Choir, Performer: English Baroque Soloists, Performer: John Eliot Gardiner (conductor)
- Philips: 470293-2.
- 5.
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Étienne Méhul
Overture La Chasse du Jeune Henri
Performer: Orchestra of the Gulbenkian Foundation, Performer: Michel Swierczewski (conductor)
- Nimbus: NI5184.
- 1.
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Jean-François Le Sueur
Oratorios for the Coronations of the Sovereign Princess of Christendom - Opening March
Performer: Das Neue Orchester, Performer: Christopher Spering (conductor)
- Opus111: Ops3089.
- 1.
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Giovanni Mirabassi
Ah! 'Ca ira'
Performer: Giovanni Mirabassi (piano)
- Sketch: SKE333015.
- 3.
Broadcasts
- Tue 4 Dec 201212:00BBC Radio 3
- Tue 4 Dec 201218:30BBC Radio 3
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