CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921): Ballet from Act III of Ascanio, Prologue to Les Barbares, Overture to La Jota aragonese, Overture and Prelude to Act IV of Andromaque, Overture to La Princesse jaune, Ouverture d’un opéra-comique inachevé.

Description: Saint-Saëns’ operatic works contain instrumental music of vivacity and charm but have been undeservedly overlooked. Ascanio (1887-88) contains a substantial and elaborate divertissement that fellow composer Reynaldo Hahn termed ‘the entire Renaissance in a few pages’. Les Barbares (1901), a tale of conquest and revenge, includes a vivid prologue and joyful ballet, while La Princesse jaune (1871-72) with its pentatonic writing, and La Jota aragonese (1880), laced with Spanish vitality, show the composer at his most generously carefree. The unfinished overture dates from 1854. Malmö Symphony Orchestra; Jun Märkl.