March and Cortege of Bacchus [Alf:00-23320]

Leo Delibes composed his ballet, "Sylvia," in 1876. It achieved considerable popularity, and several of the individual numbers were grouped into a suite which orchestras all over the world have played. The March and the Cortege of Bacchus appears in Act III of the ballet, describing the arrival of Bacchus and his followers. The music is martial, lyric, grand and brilliant, building to an exciting conclusion.