This programme is the Re-imagining of Rameau as Organist: not removing any works from the harpsichord repertory, but allowing some of them, arguably the more theatrical, to take on a new life and identity as organ music. An additional spur to re-imagining Rameau in this fashion is the practice, enjoined by the composer himself, of making orchestral arrangements of harpsichord pieces, and harpsichord pieces of orchestral works; genres were fluid. The keyboard works in this recording are drawn, with just one exception, from Rameau's two major harpsichord collections, the Pieces de clavecin of 1724 and the Nouvelles suites de pieces de clavecin of 1729/30. Keyboard pieces with distinct programmatic identities have been selected, leaving to one side the rather more abstract dance movements. Edward Higginbottom

The Middle East and its Thousand and One Nights (published in France in 1717) became a fantasy of French opera, and Rameau wrote on this theme for three decades. Far from merely shifting the action to the mysterious lands of “Persia” with its cruel yet salacious customs, the composer amplified the personalities of its characters and made their music sparkle more than ever. The Suites taken from Rameau’s greatest masterpieces, from Indes Galantes to Boréades, are reproduced with great energy by the two virtuoso harpsichords of Clément Geoffroy and Loris Barrucand. The century of Louis XV dances to the rhythm of the tambourins, sizzling irresistibly with “savagery", flowers, pleasures and infernal spirits.

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) left two very different versions of his tragédie en musique Zoroastre: the first, in 1749, suffered from cabals and the work was withdrawn from the repertory. Rameau gave it a thoroughgoing revision in 1756. At this time, he was at the height of his powers. Melody, harmony, orchestration and choral writing no longer held any secrets for him. Zoroastre brought still further innovation. For the first time, he dispensed with a prologue, and turned the overture into a philosophical ‘program’, the struggle between day and night, between good and evil.

The 1749 version is entirely governed by avant-garde ideas; Zoroastre resembles Tamino in The Magic Flute, but two generations earlier. This disconcerted some of the audience: Zoroastre was a moral, social and philosophical opera. The 1749 version has never been revived in modern times. Alexis Kossenko takes up the challenge with zest, accompanied by an outstanding cast including Véronique Gens, Jodie Devos, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Mathias Vidal and Tassis Christoyannis.

REVIEW:

For listeners more used to English Baroque, this example of high French Baroque will require a big adjustment: every element – aria, duet, chorus, instrumental interlude – is short and thick with text; the feminine ending of each musical line reinforces the Gallic character of the whole.

The chorus and line-up of soloists is first-rate, with a suitably menacing Abramane (Tassis Christoyannis) and a witchy Érinice (Véronique Gens); with a gorgeously pure-toned Amélite (Jodie Devos), and an expressive and clarion-voiced Zoroastre (Reinoud van Mechelen). The instrumental numbers (notably the sarabands) are beautifully done, with the weather – lashings of thunder and lightning – forcefully dramatised throughout.

-- BBC Music Magazine

The famous Marquise de Pompadour, favorite of King Louis XV for nearly twenty years, reigned over the arts at court. Rameau, whom she particularly admired, was omnipresent. He received a specific commission for the Théâtre des Petits Appartements, where the Marquise herself sang in the midst of a troupe of amateurs and professionals: the result was Les Surprises de l’Amour, from which the ensemble Les Surprises takes its name. Under the expert direction of Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, the group presents here the very first recording of this ballet in its original 1748 version, including the prologue entitled Le Retour d’Astrée, and couples it with another commission for one of the court’s annual residences at Fontainebleau: Les Sybarites (1753), an acte de ballet whose principal couple is reminiscent of the King himself and his favorite. A first-rate vocal line-up brings these two works back to life: Marie Perbost, Eugénie Lefebvre, Jehanne Amzal, Clément Debieuvre, David Witczak, Philippe Estèphe.

1 multi-channel (5.1) SACD - Total time: 78'25 Packaged in a digipak DVD box The organ is not only a musical instrument; it's also a fascinating machine, whose complexity has increased along the centuries. This new collection aims to discover them, to get closely acquainted with them. But a great part of the magic, proper to the organ, refers to the context that surrounds the instrument. It's quite normal, when entering into a church, to look up and see if an instrument is installed in the building. An organ is not only about producing sounds, it occupies a place in space and in the architecture. In order to reflect the power of this spatiality, we have decided to use, on top of the standard stereo, a multi-channel sound in 5.1, for the music lovers who are equipped with SACD technology. The new collection will of course have the "Alpha touch": fine presentation, book-like, accurate and complete texts, numerous quality pictures. By introducing instruments chosen in the entire world for their exceptional features, we wish to create a close relationship with the public so as to make the personality of each instrument more reachable. The first reference of the collection (Alpha 650) will be devoted to the organ of Cintegabelle (France), a magnificent instrument build in the early 1740's, whose sound colours emphasizes an original programme of transcriptions compiled from Jean-Philippe Rameau's operas, interpreted by Yves Rechsteiner. Why the name of Ugab? Because the organ's original ancestor appears (presumably) under that name in the Old Testament, back in the mists of time...

RAMEAU Suites: No. 4 in A/a; No. 5 in G/g. La Dauphine. Les petits marteaux. RAMEAU-GUTMAN Pièces de clavecin en concerts: Concert No. 5 in D/d. RAMEAU-BALBASTRE Pigmalion: Giga • Stephen Gutman (pn) • TOCCATA 0052 (68:48)


I am always overjoyed to hear a new recording of Rameau’s keyboard music performed on the piano; it is a repertoire which I find completely underappreciated by most pianists today who favor the works of either Bach or Scarlatti for their recital programs. For whatever the inexplicable reasons, it is both their loss in playing this repertoire and ours in hearing it performed on an instrument capable of such tonal nuances as benefits this music. That said: This is the third and last of Stephen Gutman’s recordings of the complete keyboard music of this master, but only the first that I’ve heard. After playing this disc over and over again this month, I’ll be sure to run—not walk!—to my nearest shop to obtain the first two releases which I’ve missed out on thus far.


Luckily for me, Gutman here performs two of Rameau’s greatest keyboard suites—the one in A-Minor/Major, which ends with the virtuosic Gavotte with six variations (or doubles as he labels them), most likely modeled on the “Air and Variations” from Handel’s D-Minor Suite, and the one in G Major/Minor, which includes some of the most famous of Rameau’s excerpted pieces—“La poule,” “Les sauvages,” “L’enharmonique,” and “L’egiptienne,” among others. From the very first notes of the opening A-Minor Allemande, the pianist’s sense of exploration, his wide tonal palette, and his rhythmic freedom can all be heard to good advantage, along with his intimate and scholarly knowledge of these works—from correct ornamentation to matters of tempo. Importantly, the pianist looks to characterize each of these movements in their own particular way, and does so well—from the serious Courante to the intimate Sarabande, from the athletic and virtuosic “Les trois mains” to the exuberant and joyful “La triomphant.” Perhaps the only aspect I miss a bit comes in the concluding Gavotte, where just a bit more bombast could surely do no harm; here the minute characterization of each variation takes away from the inherent drive to the end which should pervade the entire set. As the following Suite in G is comprised of mostly named movements— à la Couperin—it benefits even more so from Gutman’s quick and profound characterization: “La poule,” being one of the best examples, demonstrates just how quickly he can portray these musical numbers. From the opening repeated-note gesture one is pulled in, only to be startled by the quick flourishes which drive the music forward. The ornaments found throughout the piece are hardly simple trills or mordents—rather, they are sounds of the hen herself. Though “Les sauvages” could be a bit more brutal in character, the pianist’s tendency to emphasize the gallant and graceful aspects in the music is in keeping with the age. “L’egiptienne” makes for a mysterious, yet rousing, conclusion.


The other works here include two transcriptions—one made by Gutman of the Concert No. 5 from the Pièces de clavecin en concerts , which includes three movements (“La Forqueray,” “La Cupis,” and “La Marais”) and the Giga from Pigmalion , possibly transcribed by one Claude-Bénigne Balbastre. Of the two works, the former is the more impressive piece, originally conceived, as is was, for a chamber ensemble of strings and keyboard; the opening work, “La Forqueray,” is actually a four-part fugue, which Gutman carefully choreographs for performance on a single keyboard—no small feat! While there are, of course, interesting little details left out, Gutman is careful to capture the most important aspects of the piece, in both transcription and performance.


Throughout this very fine recital Gutman proves himself a guide of the first order—not only does he understand this music both inside and out, he never allows the scholar in him to inhibit the performer; rather he uses the knowledge to bring out the best in this music. And while I may have my quibbles about matters of performance, there is hardly a movement in the entire recital that will not charm and delight the most judgmental of listeners. Recorded in generally good, though somewhat dry, sound and accompanied by excellent program notes (both by Graham Sadler and the pianist himself), this is a release to savor. Recommended.


FANFARE: Scott Noriega

After the success of the first fourteen reissues, which restored to the limelight some of the gems of the early music repertory in the catalogues of our labels, here are fourteen new titles to allow listeners to renew acquaintance with further treasures of the Renaissance and Baroque (and even a journey through time thanks to Rapha�l Imbert's album Bach Coltrane), performed by some of the leading interpreters of the genre; most of these discs won one or more awards on their first release. As with the first series, the artists have been asked to contribute to the booklets, in which, with a few years' hindsight, they talk about their conception of the works and how they went about recording them. The photographers of the Magnum agency illustrate the covers of the series with their work; this time the common design element is the colour yellow. In addition to the 13 titles shown below, the album FIRENZE 161 by LE POEME HARMONIQUE, VINCENT DUMESTRE, will also be reissued.

REVIEWS:
New York Times (Publisher) (4/7/00, p.E6) - "...this Hungarian period-instrument group produces a rounded timbre, closer to that of modern instruments. In addition...Terey-Smith also favors relaxed tempos, but this preference exacts no cost in vibrancy or...sheer rambunctiousness..."

It's a rare treat to hear instrumental music of any era that's invested with such tightly packed, colorfully expressive drama, portrayed with just enough instrumental volume and weight that the result is neither undernourished nor overblown. Although Handel usually gets the credit as the numero uno Baroque theatrical master, this disc goes a long way to show that he had serious competition across the Channel from his almost exact contemporary Jean-Philippe Rameau. Frans Brüggen and his Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, which behind Quebec's Les Violons du Roy is one of the world's finest interpreters of repertoire from this period, gives us two "suites" chosen from the instrumental sections of the tragic opera Zoroastre and the pastorale Naïs. In his stage music Rameau's two chief concerns were to go as far as possible in the scoring to depict the action, and never to be boring. For the former, he allied pure ingenuity with optimal use of his compositional bag of tricks, combining surprising harmonies – "les libertés harmoniques" – and key changes with startling dissonances, prodigiously attractive melodies, and lovely "impressionistic" scene-painting effects. This is really great stuff, and although we don't get the complete works here, the sheer impact of Rameau's orchestral craft (and craftiness) almost tells the stories without need of texts. Okay, that's going a bit far (contrary to the hyperbolic claims in the liner notes), but nevertheless, Brüggen and his able forces do keep us close to the edge of our seats wondering what will happen next, while the multi-colored instrumental timbres, volatile dynamic effects, and unfaltering pacing do the rest. The sound is a bit cluttered – that is, inner detail is sketchy and balances favor the higher-register parts – but overall we get a listening perspective that places us in ideal proximity to the action, helping to fulfill Rameau's second aim – never to be boring.

– David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

This disc should be of interest to anyone the least interested in baroque opera.

Jean-Philippe Rameau was granted a long life: he was born two years before Bach and Handel and survived them both, Handel by five years. He spent his early career as organist and his compositions were mostly for keyboard instruments, primarily harpsichord. Not until he was fifty did he start writing operas, his first success being Hippolyte et Aricie in 1733. The works he wrote during the next twenty years are regarded as the cream of French Baroque opera, Castor et Pollux (1737, revised 1754) possibly his masterwork. His music became unfashionable towards the end of his life but in our time, from the 1960s, many of them have been revived and recorded. I remember hearing a performance of Castor et Pollux on Swedish Radio in the early 1970s, conducted by Harnoncourt, who later recorded the work with the same forces in Stockholm with Gerard Souzay as Pollux. That recording that still ranks high in the Rameau stakes.

On this disc the renowned French haute-contre Jean-Paul Fouchécourt sings a number of arias from eight of Rameau’s stage-works, which can be divided in tragedies lyriques, comedies lyriques and comedies-ballets. The term ‘haute-contre’ should not be confused with ‘counter-tenor’. The latter is a man who sings falsetto in the contralto range while the haute-contre is a high tenor who sings in his natural voice from e to c’’.

The arias on this disc have been chosen to represent Fouchécourt’s great predecessor Pierre de Jélyotte (1713–1797) who sang at the Paris Opéra from 1733 to his retirement in 1755, where he performed 46 characters in 41 works. One of his first assignments was two characters at the premiere of Rameau’s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie and he was given roles in thirteen of the sixteen stage works that Rameau mounted during this period. Nobody knows what he sounded like but contemporary reports say that it was a powerful and supple voice with a wide range. What did ‘powerful’ mean in those days? Certainly not the same thing as today, where powerful means a voice that can ride a Wagnerian orchestra or challenge Verdi’s Aida trumpets. Knowing the music Rameau wrote for him and the orchestral forces he had to compete with one can probably conclude that in today’s terminology it was a lyric voice and that Jean-Paul Fouchécourt is a worthy stand-in for him. Beauty, flexibility and virtuosity were more important components in a singer’s armoury during the 18th century than sheer force.

Hearing Fouchécourt almost twenty years ago I remember him as a very light voiced singer, agile and with beautiful tone. When he recorded Gluck’s Orphée et Euridice in the 1774 Paris version for Naxos five years ago with the same orchestra and conductor (see review) his was still a marvellously handsome voice, in my view an ideal instrument for the part. Four years later, when this disc was recorded, his technical accomplishment is still without reproach, his runs are exemplary and grace notes are applied with the utmost elegance. His soft singing is also very attractive but it seems that he has lost something of the suppleness of tone. It has hardened and he has to work harder than before with a slight widening of vibrato on sustained notes at forte. Today he sounds more like a character tenor, which isn’t as negative as it might seem. This is namely one of the most expressive baroque recitals I have come across. He makes the words tell and he colours the voice accordingly to good theatrical effect. Conveying a character or a situation with vocal means alone is a hard task for any singer or actor but Fouchécourt’s singing has ‘face’.

Ryan Brown and his Opera Lafayette also contribute to make this a highly desirable disc. Besides the aforementioned Orphée he also made a successful recording of Sacchini’s Oedipe some time ago (see review) and since several of the works here are ballets he has rich opportunities to let the orchestra shine – which it does with rhythmic flair, precision and elegance and also in the elegiac numbers he keeps the music alive. There are some spectacular sound effects in Platée (tr. 3, near the end) where the stage instruction says: “… suddenly a great clap of thunder is heard. A shower of fire falls from heaven. Platée runs about the stage in great fright.” If you happen to nod during this long scene – which to be sure seems improbable – you will certainly be woken up!

Musically this is a string of pearls of wonderful scenes with dances and arias, joyful, dramatic, elegiac, beautiful. For a taster of Fouchécourt’s accomplishment try the little arietta from Platée – Quittez nymphes, quittez (tr. 2), where his expertise in coloratura as well as his expressive colouring of the voice are to the fore. Also lend an ear to the elegiac aria from Castor et Pollux (tr. 6) and Neptune’s beautiful aria from Naïs (tr. 12): Cessez de ravager la terre, which has less to do with topical problems like global heating and devastation of the rain-forests than the eternal plague of war.

Ideally one could have wished that this disc had been recorded a couple of years earlier when Fouchécourt’s voice was in even better shape but his deep insight compensates for what loss of tonal quality there is.

Full marks to Naxos for providing not only full texts and translations but also an introduction to each scene with some historical notes and then placing the aria in context.

This disc should be of interest to anyone the least interested in baroque opera.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

György Vashegyi’s love affair with French Baroque repertoire continues with Rameau’s Naïs from 1749 in a Glossa release complete with a characteristically appealing design. Subtitled “Opéra pour la paix,” Naïs features demanding and extended leading roles for soprano Chantal Santon-Jeffery (Naïs) and high tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen (Neptune), ably assisted by Florian Sempey and Thomas Dolié, in an everyday eighteenth-century tale of a lovesick god in disguise, a misinterpreted prophecy and an alternative version of the Olympic Games (the score demands much from the chorus and Vashegyi’s refined Purcell Choir is up to the mark). Rameau was a master orchestrator, no more so than in this pastorale heroïque, stuffed full of ballets figurés, airs, minuets, rigaudons and tambourins, and with his Orfeo Orchestra – led by the peerless Simon Standage – Vashegyi harnesses the music’s graphic and dramatic energy, complete with giants toppling off mountains, tidal waves swamping jilted lovers, underwater palaces, bucolic scenes (which include that characteristic French Baroque instrument, the musette – here played by Patrick Blanc), and even a chaconne for wrestlers.

Stage Director José Montalvo

REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
APPROX RUN TIME: 204 Mins
SOUND: DTS SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: English/French/German/Spanish/Italian
NO OF DISCS: 2

Inspired by a fable by La Fontaine, Rameau produced perhaps his most brilliant music for his penultimate great work, blending reality and the surreal on several levels.

This passionate new production by José Montalvo, stunningly choreographed by Montalvo and Dominique Hervieu, sets new standards in entertainment, charm and ingenuity. The sharp and spectacular multimedia staging does full justice to Rameau’s dazzling burlesque, confirming Olivier Rouvière’s statement that ‘Les Paladins is the last laugh of a witty 77-year old composer’. Recorded live in 2004 at the Paris Théâtre du Châtelet in true surround sound, both the virtuoso cast and Les Arts Florissants are in top form, clearly enjoying themselves in the masterful hands of William Christie.

Special Features:
* ‘Baroque that rocks!’ – A documentary film by Reiner E. Moritz featuring interviews with William Christie, Dominique Hervieu, Topi Lehtipuu, Stéphanie d’Oustrac and other members of the cast
* Illustrated Synopsis & Cast Gallery

REVIEWS:

"I doubt anything more witty, more spectacular, more ravishingly sexy will be seen on the opera stage this year." - Evening Standard

"This feast of captivating visual images, stunningly sensual choreography and glorious music is so rich that one can do no more than give a flavour." - Evening Standard

"A delirious confection of music, movement and technology... Les Paladins blends high-tech wizardry with breathtaking precision." - The Independent on Sunday

"A multimedia spectacular, dazzlingly well executed ...a real treat." - The Guardian

"...like eating a box of chocolates someone has laced with hallucinogens. It’s a fantastic, elegant, high energy production." - The Daily Telegraph

Classical Music