Masques et Bergamasques op. 112: Suite for Orchestra, Score

In 1918 Gabriel Faure, then 73 years old, received a commission from Prince Albert I of Monaco to write stage music invoking the atmosphere of the commedia dell'arte. The four-movement orchestral suite op. 112, consisting of Ouverture, Menuet, Gavotte and Pastorale, combines previously unpublished parts of this stage music. The Pastorale of 1919 was Faure's last composition for orchestra, the Ouverture originated in a piece of 1864 for piano duet and the original version of the Gavotte was written for piano as early as 1869. The op. 112 orchestral suite demonstrates how the composer, now older and more experienced, reworked and improved his earlier music.