─ 多明尼克．霍維茲／旁白
─ 伊莎貝拉．佛斯特／小提琴
─ 亞歷山大．梅尼可夫／鋼琴

在祖國經歷第一次世界大戰和十月革命動亂中深深的被創傷, 史特拉汶斯基在瑞士作家拉穆茲(Charles Ferdinand Ramuz)的幫助下發現一個與他的時代引起完美共鳴的主題. 在此受到一個古老的俄羅斯民間故事啟發的音樂劇院作品, The Deserter and the Devil, (春之祭)的作者在第一次世界大戰的最後幾個月中探索新的途徑, 這很快的帶他到一個非常個人型式的新古典主義.

在這個英文版本中, 法國演員多明尼克．霍維茲(Dominique Horwitz)以大師風格扮演所有的口白角色, 伊莎貝拉．佛斯特組合的音樂家們接下用該劇首演同時代樂器的挑戰. 結果是, 此作品顯露出真正人物的個性和非常原汁原味的音色, 敏銳而且尖銳的. 此片還包含了作曲家不公平的被忽略的兩件珍寶(輓歌 Elegie, 雙重協奏曲 Duo concertant), 作為他逝世五十週年的紀念(1882～1971)。

Deeply scarred by the First World War and by the upheavals of the October Revolution in his homeland, Stravinsky found, with the help of the Swiss author Ramuz, a subject that resonated perfectly with his era. In this music theatre piece inspired by an old Russian folktale, The Deserter and the Devil, the composer of The Rite of Spring explored new paths in the last months of the First World War, which would soon lead him to a very personal form of neo-classicism.

With this English version, in which Dominique Horwitz plays all the spoken roles in masterly fashion, the musicians assembled by Isabelle Faust have taken up the challenge of performing on instruments contemporary with the premiere. As a result, the work reveals its true personality and its immensely original colours, keen and biting. It is coupled here with two unjustly neglected gems by its composer, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of his death.