The genre of the grand motet, which was set in place by Lalande and Lully, was furthered and developed in French tradition by Jean-Joseph Cassanea de Mondonville. Four of his motets have been recorded here by Gyorgy Vashegyi alongside the Orfeo Orchestra and the Purcell Choir. Louis Castelain provides an overview of Mondonville’s life for this recording.

Le Carnaval du Parnasse, Mondonville's heroic ballet, was a dazzling triumph at its premiere in 1749, eclipsing Rameau's Zoroastre, which premiered the same year. Dedicated to the Marquise de Pompadour, muse of the arts and the omnipotent favorite of the King, this whimsical carnival is nothing short of a delicious marivaudage: on Mount Parnassus, Apollo and his Muses indulge in feasts of the senses and entertainments of the heart… Mondonville displays prodigious virtuosity throughout, depicting unheard-of orchestral colors and imagining unbridled dances and vast ceremonial choruses comparable to those in his great motets. Alexis Kossenko and his ensemble Les Ambassadeurs ~ La Grande Écurie, joined by the eminent vocal power of the Chœur de Chambre de Namur, have made an exceptional rediscovery of this masterful reincarnation of the splendors of the Court of Louis XV, then at its apogee.

With Isbé, a pastorale héroïque by Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville, György Vashegyi has revived another overlooked dramatic work from the French Baroque – much as he did with Rameau’s Les Fêtes de Polymnie – for another release on the Glossa label. In his native Budapest, Vashegyi has been developing his interpretations of Baroque music with his Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir for nearly three decades now, and for this recording he has assembled a magnificent team of vocal soloists, well-versed in the idiom of eighteenth- century French opera: Thomas Dolié assumes the important role of Adamas, the Chief Druid, who is besotted by Isbé, and yet is also provided with modern Enlightenment thinking (the opera was premièred in 1742).The title role has been taken by the British soprano Katherine Watson, while Isbé’s other suitor, Coridon, is sung by tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen. Despite being somewhat over-shadowed in his lifetime by his older and more prolific contemporary, Jean- Philippe Rameau, Mondonville was already a successful composer of instrumental music and some ambitious grands motets before he composed Isbé, and his operatic vision was remarkably well-advanced in terms of structure, orchestration and melodic invention; he was clearly also aware of the advances made by Antonio Vivaldi in orchestral music.

Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville was greatly admired in his day. His opera Titon et l’Aurore was one of his most popular works, being held up as a triumph over the rival Italian style during the Parisian Querelle des Bouffons in the 1750s. The narrative of this spectacular opéra-ballet follows the tumultuous and seemingly unbreakable liaison between the goddess L’Aurore and her lover the shepherd Titon. Jealous gods and goddesses try to interfere through murderous intent and dramatic abduction, but true love ultimately conquers all in stage director Basil Twist’s acclaimed feast for the senses.

REVIEWS:

This is a remarkably interesting production on several fronts. The music is a rarity, the composer almost unknown, the staging as close to the original as can be achieved, the period performance very fine and the history of the piece of unusual cultural significance.

The superb orchestra and chorus of Les Arts Florissants play and sing as if unaware of the lack of any audience and the presence of COVID masks in the pit—not the stage! This was all done in the middle of our pandemic. What a treat this would have been for an audience…

…This disc has to be given a strong recommendation. The picture is appropriately bright and sparkling, the sound is absolutely clear and clean with enough ambience to give it the feeling of being there.

-- MusicWeb International (Dave Billinge)

Highly rewarding for both the staging and the musical accomplishments – it should be at the very top of one’s shopping list.

The cast that was selected for this first production in modern times is a knockout one in every respect. William Christie and Les Arts Florissants are in crisp energetic form. Whenever the camera focuses on Christie it is obvious that he is enjoying himself every bit as much as his singers. Perfect picture and sound engineering guarantee that every fleecy moment is preserved with distinction.

-- MusicWeb International (Mike Parr)

Recorded at the Opéra-Comique last year, although without an audience, this recording of Mondonville’s Titon et l’Aurore is another triumph from William Christie.

-- Gramophone