Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. "Le Vieil Hiver A Fait Place Au Printemps "
2. "Les Bergers Laissent Leurs Troupeaux"
3. "Mais D'Un Éclat Guerrier Les Campagnes Se Parent"
4. Marche Hongroise
5. "Sans Regrets J'Ai Quittè Les Riantes Campagnes"
6. "Christ Vient De Ressusciter!"
7. "Hélas! Doux Chants Du Ciel"
8. "Ô Pure Émotion!"
9. "A Boire Encor!"
10. "Certain Rat, Dans Une Cuisine"
11. "Amen"
12. "Vrai Dieu, Messieurs"
13. "Une Puce Gentille Chez Un Prince Logeait"
14. "Assez! Fuyons Ces Lieux Où La Parole Est Vile"
15. "Voici Des Roses"
16. "Dors! Heureux Faust!"
17. "Ballet Des Sylphes"
18. "Margarita! Qu'Ai-Je Vu?"
19. "Villes Entourées De Murs Et Remparts"
20. "Jam Nox Stellata Velamina Pandit"
21. "Villes Entourées "/"Jam Nox Stellata"

Disc 2:

1. Tambours Et Trompettes Sonnant La Retraite
2. "Merci, Doux Crépuscule!"
3. "Je L'Entends!"
4. "Que L'Air Est Étouffant!"
5. "Autrefois Un Roi De Thulé"
6. "Esprits Des Flammes Inconstantes"
7. Menuet Des Follets
8. "Devant La Maison"
9. "Grand Dieu! Que Vois-Je?"
10. "Ange Adoré"
11. "Allons, Il Est Trop Tard!"
12. "Je Connais Donc Enfin Tout Le Prix De La Vie"
13. "D'Amour L'Ardente Flamme"
14. "Au Son Des Trompettes"
15. "Nature Immense, Impénétrable Et Fière"
16. "A La Voûte Azurée"
17. "Dans Mon Coeur Retentit Sa Voix Désespérée"
18. "Tradioun Marexil Firtudinxé Burrudixé"
19. "Alors, L'Enfer Se Tut"
20. "Laus! Laus! Hosanna! Hosanna!"
21. "Remonte Au Ciel, Âme Naïve"
22. "Viens! Les Vierges Divines"

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #163610 in Music
• Released on: 1998-08-11
• Number of discs: 2

USA Today
Never has Mephistopheles been sung with such vocally plush seductiveness--without losing the devilish edge--as by Terfel. Otter trades her customary detachment for emotional heat as Faust's unlucky lover, Marguerite.

Customer Reviews

Excellent, Dramatic Berlioz
This is one of the best versions available. I agree with the reviewer from Charlottesville: Terfel is excellent here. I also think von Otter is marvellous--la chanson du roi de Thule would melt your heart. The conducting is wonderful; Myung-Whun Chung organizes the performance superbly, and finds ways to integrate phrases into larger wholes (that, for example, elude Munch). Keith Lewis (Faust) is, alas, not up to the part. There are a couple of recordings of this work with good tenors. Nicolai Gedda, joined by Janet Baker and Georges Pretre, is excellent (EMI), as is Andre Turp in Monteux's BBC recording with Regine Crespin (IMG Artists). The present recording joins those two at the top of the discography. All three excell in their sopranos and the quality of chorus and orchestra, and the sensitivity and attention to detail of their conducting. All three are well recorded, though DG has the definite edge in sound quality. You rarely hear such glorious recorded sound.

Wonderful music and wonderful recording
This is one of my favorite CD's. The work itself is electrifying, passionate Berlioz. Lust, drama, Heaven, and Hell. In Le Damnation of Faust, you have it all! Lewis is is an excellent Faust. His voice brings out the best in Berlioz's vocal writing. von Otter is a sympathetic Marguerite. The King of Thul ballad shows off her breath-taking voice and a drammatic yet innocent presence which I had never heard in her voice before this recording. I am normally not a big fan of Terfel, but in this recording he makes the perfect, seductive, evil, and even sometimes loveable Mephistopheles. The shining star of this recording, however, is von Halem as the Brander. His rather gruff tone allows the listener to picture a grotesque, hairy, and loud drunk. von Halem is the most believable Brander I have heard. The background "bar" chorus and Mephistopheles' "Flea Song" make the Ratskeller scene wild and vulgar--just as it should be! The chorus and orchestra also do a fantastic job of creating a frightening scene as demons in Hell, as Mephistopheles triumphs at conquering Faust's soul. The work ends in a well-conducted contrast when Marguerite is called into heaven.
The orchestra and Chung are top-notch in this recording. Chung brings out the contrasts and various dimmensions in the score. Great conductor, great soloists, great orchestra and chorus...what more could you ask for?

Sensational
Something truly remarkable is happening; we're finally getting the kinds of recordings and performances of Berlioz that have been needed for years. This isn't a matter of a "new take" with Brahms or Beethoven, as we see often enough, this is a manifestation of a growing understanding of this incredibly misunderstood composer. Younger conductors are hearing the avant-garde qualities of the music and unapologetic-ally bringing out the extraordinary details. We're accepting that Berlioz knew exactly what he was doing. In a marvelous way one had to be brought through the experimentation of the last century in order to finally "get" him. Recording technology has also, and finally, reached Berliozian standards. It's as if he had been composing for us, not for his own time.

The still-brilliant, incredibly taut, Solti Faust had always been tops in my book but this version will probably supplant it in some ways. Years of listening to this exciting masterpiece and here I'm hearing imaginative details I'd never encountered before, the piece never sounded so modern. The interpretation is largely excellent, the vocalists outstanding with Terfel a brilliant Mephistopheles and von Otter great. Lewis strikes just the right note for his character. The sound is dazzling and the gut-wrenching tour of Hell can hold its own against the loudest rock. Just fantastic overall!