Lully arr Mottl – Ballet Suite
Ballet Suite (1674 -75 arr. c.1890)
Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) arr. Felix Mottl (1856-1911)
- Prélude (Alceste) – Marche (Theseée) – Les Ventes (Alceste) – Marche da Capo.
Italian by birth, Lully was taken to Paris at age 14 by a French nobleman to speak Italian with his niece. Aged 21, he joined the French court after dancing in the 13-hour long “Royal Ballet of the Night” in which the 15-year-old Louis XIV played Apollo, the Sun King. For the rest of his life Lully remained with Louis XIV during which time he redefined both French opera and ballet forms. Lully died of gangrene contracted after he struck his foot with his staff whilst conducting his Te Deum to celebrate the King’s recovery from surgery!
This excerpt is from one of several suites by the Austrian conductor Felix Mottl who made a number of arrangements of baroque works for the modern symphony orchestra. It features lively excerpts from two of Lully’s operas, Alceste and Theseus.
Performed: 24 March 2019