France

Lanscapes: Bourgogne Pays de la Loire

River Cousin, Bourgogne / Val de la Loue, Franche Comte / River Erdre and River Loire, Pays de la Loure / Lac de St. Point, Franche Comte

Chateau de Cheverny, Pays de la Loire / Birds of Arlay, Bourgogne

Thunderstorm, Pays de la Loire

Vougeot / Chateau de Bussy-Rabutin / Fontevraud / Saumur / Ornans

Villandry Gardens, France

Date of Production: 2015-04-17

Playing Time: 00:52:51

Catalogue Number: 2.110298

UPC: 747313529858

The Places

The tour of France takes us to Burgundy, to the Pays de la Loire, to Franche-Comte and elsewhere and includes glimpses of the 17th century Chateau de Cheverny, with its hunting museum and souvenirs of the chase, and the Chateau d'Arlay, with its site for falconry. The Chateau de Bussy-Rabutain was rebuilt in the middle of the 17th century by Count Roger of Bussy-Rabutain, exiled from the French court after his scandalous Histoire amoureuse des Gaules, a literary preoccupation reflected in his collection of pictures. The restored gardens of the Chateau de Villandry are seen in their formal lay-out.

The Music

The music chosen to accompany the tour of the fertile and varied
landscapes of France is by Beethoven and consists principally of his Pastoral Symphony, a work that reflects his feelings, as he recollects a visit to the countryside. The symphony includes elements of realism in its versions of bird-calls and its depiction of a storm, followed by a song of the thanksgiving, when the storm has passed. Also included is the Romance in G Major, a single movement for solo violin and orchestra, possibly intended for a violin concerto that was never written.