Turku Phila=haronic Archive

SIBELIUS: Belshazzar’s Feast, Scène de Ballet, Cortège and other works for the stage – Turku Philharmonic Orch., Leif Segerstam – Naxos

by Audiophile Audition | May 8, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

A wide-ranging and enjoyable tour of Sibelius’ music for the theatre, conducted by Leif Segerstam with the Turku Philharmonic. JEAN SIBELIUS: Belshazzar’s Feast, Scène de Ballet, Cortège and other works for the stage – Turku Philharmonic Orch., Leif Segerstam/ Pia Pajala, sop. – Naxos 8.573300, 63:01 *****: The feature work on this all-Sibelius (1865 – 1957) album is Belshazzar’s Feast, The original story is from the Old Testament Book of Daniel and tells of the King of Babylon and a Jewish girl sent to assassinate him. She eventually succeeds but not before the two fall in love. His death is foretold by a mysterious hand appearing during a banquet to write his destiny on the wall. The libretto for this gory tale is by Sibelius’ friend, poet and journalist Hjalmar Procopé. Among the eleven tracks of this complete score, two very pleasant dances feature prominently – The Dance of Life and The Dance of Death. The only vocal item on the whole album is the wonderful Song of the Jewish Girl, sung by mezzo Pia Pajala. She’s an expert in Finnish, and in Sibelius, and it shows. She is featured in his Pelléas et Mélisande on several other Naxos disks. […]