L'Histoire du soldat, premiered in September 1918, pays tribute to all those who died in a war that was drawing to an end. The soldier wagers his soul and his fiddle, which will not save him. The Devil always wins. Inspired by the fine text by Ramuz, Stravinsky's music evokes parades, the circus, jazz . . . Three peerless storytellers –Denis Podalydes, Didier Sandre, Michel Vuillermoz – and seven instrumentalists; they too play as if their life depended on it, instilling this recording with an energy as expressive as it is Mephistophelean.
Premiere partie / Part I
1 Marche du soldat. Airs de marche 2'53
2 Musique de la premiere scene. Petits airs au bord du ruisseau 6'14
3 Marche du soldat. Airs de marche (reprise) 4'12
4 Musique de la deuxieme scene. Pastorale 7'48
5 Musique de la troisieme scene. Petits airs au bord du ruisseau (reprise) 4'19
6 Musique de la troisieme scene (reprise) 0'47
Deuxieme partie / Part II
7 Marche du soldat. Airs de marche (reprise) 3'40
8 Marche royale 7'13
9 Petit Concert 3'13
10 Trois Danses : Tango. Valse. Ragtime 6'50
11 Danse du diable 1'35
12 Petit Choral 0'45
13 Couplet du diable 0'45
14 Grand Choral 5'23
15 Marche triomphale du Diable 2'22