PACO031 - Les Saltimbanques (abridged)

This is one of a very small number of known recordings of this comic opera, though the odd aria does crop up in some collections, and I would imagine that the work is largely unknown to a majority of visitors to this site - as, indeed, might also be said for the composer.

The LP from which this transfer was taken was therefore a very pleasant find for me - very well recorded (with one caveat - see below) and in excellent condition, my disc turned out to be a slightly later reissue of the original Pathé LP.

Comparison to a near-contemporary full recording (available at iTunes) reveals this to be a far superior recording in almost every respect. As such it's perhaps a shame they did not record the full work - though perhaps for anyone but the most dedicted fan (who might legitimately wish to own this abridged version alongside a full rendition) this 45-minute highlights selection, omitting almost all the French dialogue and cut by about 30 minutes, is still an ideal introduction to the work and its composer.

It's very much a piece of its day, and musically - on first hearings at least - can be seen as coming from a similar tradition not only of French comic opera, but also of well-known near-contemporary works such as Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. It's chock full of great and stirring tunes, rousing choruses, includes a bit of a military twist at one point, and I'm sure was deservedly a great hit in its day!

My one gripe with this recording is perhaps a minor technical one - which appears to have more to do with the LP mastering than the master recording itself. On both sides of the disc it would appear that the treble has been rolled off to a degree towards the end of the side, which also starts to suffer from some very high-frequency noise and mild distortion. While it's been possible to largely deal with the latter, and the roll-off is gradual enough to pass almost unnoticed during listening, you certainly hear that excellent clear top end return as we begin Act 2 at the start of side 2!

Whilst this may have been an affliction of the original LP, one has to ask why, several years later, it appears on an otherwise excellent reissue pressing - where others in the same series do not exhibit this flaw. Perhaps nobody noticed, but when as lovely and well-made recording as this is let down in this way, it is something of a disappointment - if only to the technically-minded!

Louis Ganne

biographical notes from Wikipedia

Louis-Gaston Ganne (born Buxières-les-Mines (Allier), 5 April 1862 - died Paris, 13–14 July 1923) was a conductor and composer of French operas, operettas, ballets, and marches.

Louis Ganne was born in the Auvergne region of France and grew-up in Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the suburbs of Paris. He studied under César Franck and Jules Massenet at the Conservatoire de Paris. He conducted at the Nouveau Théâtre de la Rue Blanche and at the Folies-Bergère, and later led a concert series at the Monte Carlo Casino.

Ganne is most recognized today for his popular patriotic marches, Le père la victoire and La marche Lorraine. He also composed for the ballet, including the 1902 ballet "In Japan". He is less well-known outside his native France, and his many operettas are now rarely performed. His most successful light opera is the circus musical Les saltimbanques (The Acrobats), from 1899.

Notes from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Ganne

Ganne - Les Saltimbanques

notes from Wikipedia

Les Saltimbanques (The acrobats) is an opéra-comique in three acts, libretto by Maurice Ordonneau, music by Louis Ganne, first performed at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Paris, on December 30, 1899.

Synopsis

Suzanne was abandoned at a child and taken in by Malicorne, director of a circus. She is friend with Paillasse (who loves her), Grand-Pingouin (who is also attracted to her), and Marion (who is Grand-Pingouin's lover). Suzanne is pursued by soldiers but rescued by a young officer, André, and the attraction between them is immediate. The brutal Malicorne abuses Suzanne one time too many, and she escapes with Paillasse, Grand-Pingouin, and Marion.

Suzanne and her friends have form a little troup called "Les Gigoletti". They are invited to perform at the Castle of the Count des Étiquettes, who is André's uncle. However, Malicorne happens to be there as well, recognises them and want them arrested on the pretext they own him money. The Count pays the sum just as André arrives.

Suzanne sings a song she has learned in childhood, which is in fact a song the Count has composed and that nobody knows. From this song, it is discovered that she is his long lost daughter. Being of high birth, she and André can be married, but she also feels sorrow that she will be leaving her friends.

These notes from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_saltimbanques

Notes on the 24-bit download: Please see this page for test files and further information regarding this format. Although restoration work is done at a sample rate of 44.1kHz, we have upsampled the final 24-bit master to 48kHz for additional replay compatibility of our FLAC download.

Our twenty-four bit FLAC downloads can be replayed in full quality using a standard DVD video player, a DVD writer and an inexpensive piece of PC software - see here for more information about replay from Video DVD discs.

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