Scena from Ernestine Chamber Music - Sheet Music

SKU: PR.610592020

UPC: 680160424962.

Born on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe to an African woman and a wealthy Frenchman, Joseph Boulogne (1739-99), better known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was educated in Paris to assume the role of a cultured eighteenth-century gentleman, studying literature, fencing, and music. He soon was acknowledged as one of the foremost swordsmen in France, while also developing his gifts as a violinist and composer. Ernestine was the first of perhaps seven operas composed by Saint-Georges between 1777 and 1790. It was based on a novel, L 'histoire d 'Ernestine, by Mme. Riccoboni, with the libretto prepared by Valmont de Choderlos de Laclos – author of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” and a captain in the French artillery. The work premiered in July 1777. The recitative and aria presented here occur at a point in the story when the heroine, Ernestine, is separated from her lover, Clemangis, and offers one of the most dramatic examples of the composer's talent. The influence of Gluck - who was active in Paris during the 1770s - is clearly discernable. This edition has been prepared directly from the composer's manuscript. The piano part is - a reduction of the orchestral parts (strings and paired oboes, bassoons, and horns); in the full score, I have taken the liberty of filling in the wind parts with supplemental textures and melodic activity. The scena has been recorded by Faye Robinson, soprano, with the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Paul Freeman. -- Dominique-Rene De Lerma.