Jean-Philippe Rameau’s opéra-ballet Les Fêtes d’Hébé gains a stirring and bright-colored new recording from a starry line-up of soloists, György Vashegyi, his Purcell Choir and Orfeo Orchestra. Though first performed at the end of the 1730s – between the two tragédies of Castor et Pollux and Dardanus – this work has received much less modern recognition for its qualities than either of the other two, although it had a substantial success with its first run of over 70 performances; an entertainment mixing delight and longing, underpinned by Rameau’s coloristic and sophisticated orchestration and coupled with his supremely inspired pastoral writing. Now, with a new edition prepared by Pascal Denécheau (who also writes the booklet essay here),this new production presents modern-day stars of the French Baroque in Chantal Santon Jeffery, Olivia Doray, Judith van Wanroij, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Mathias Vidal and David Witczak, all relishing a libretto (peopled by characters from mythology and the Ancient World) which aims at celebrating the artistic aptitudes to be found on the stage of the Opéra in Paris: Poetry, Music and Dance (from which derives the opera’s subtitle of “Les Talents lyriques”).This new recording presents the June 1739 version of this opéra ballet (whilst embracing changes made in revivals from across subsequent decades), and additionally includes the original version of the second entrée, “La Musique”.

Marc Minkowski returns with relish to Rameau: the rich colors of the orchestra, the irrepressible dynamics, an exceptional melodic sense make the extracts of his greatest lyrical tragedies shine, like so many anthological moments. These famous overtures, these masterful symphonies, paint a shimmering portrait of Rameau Master of orchestration: it is a veritable feast of oboes, flutes, clarinets, horns and bassoons... Pyrotechnics, storms and rockets leap, and adorned with splendor night or a dazzling light, Rameau's work dazzles us again. Florian Sempey deploys his masterful and truly royal voice when he appeals to the Sun, monstrous when he plays the ogre, but of unparalleled finesse in pain and love... Leaping and mysterious, Rameau's orchestra revived by Minkowski is sumptuous, dancing, jubilant!

Fifteen years after his Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin, Rameau once again turns his attention to an instrumental work, for what will be the last time, inspired by the new potential for chamber music glimpsed in the use of the concertante keyboard. The 1741 collection is the only new work he produced between 1740 and 1744, before returning to the musical theatre – to which he will dedicate the rest of his life. The most attractive aspect of the Pièces de Clavecin en Concerts, and the one which provides the most authentic reading of the work, is the multiplicity of possible combinations in performance between the instruments indicated in the score (harpsichord, violin/flute, viola da gamba/2nd violin ), following the detailed instructions that Rameau provides for each of them in the various Avis in the preface of the printed edition. The author’s intention was undoubtedly for the harpsichord and its virtuosic protagonism to be the backbone of the Pièces; however, the possibilities of alternative timbric arrangements are specifically contemplated by Rameau for this work. What was a widespread ad libitum performance practice, today becomes an extremely inviting challenge for modern performers in terms of tonal reinvention of the pieces. Thus, with each new reading the music may be reinvented, making in turn every new listening experience a rediscovery and a revelation.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau hailed “Platée” as “the best musical play ever to be heard in our theatres.” In Robert Carsen’s production, the mythological events take place in the world of Parisian haute couture and Jupiter is portrayed as the fashion god Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) – who has now really been transferred up to Olympus. This ingeniously apt transposition of this satirical opera into the modern day has long been a hit! The renowned specialist in baroque music, William Christie, conducts his Les Arts Florissants, the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and a fantastic cast. “A candy-colored baroque dream” Salzburger Nachrichten // “A must-see - and not only for fashion freaks!” (Bühne)

Jean-Jacques Rousseau hailed “Platée” as “the best musical play ever to be heard in our theatres.” In Robert Carsen’s production, the mythological events take place in the world of Parisian haute couture and Jupiter is portrayed as the fashion god Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019) – who has now really been transferred up to Olympus. This ingeniously apt transposition of this satirical opera into the modern day has long been a hit! The renowned specialist in baroque music, William Christie, conducts his Les Arts Florissants, the Arnold Schoenberg Chor and a fantastic cast. “A candy-colored baroque dream” Salzburger Nachrichten // “A must-see - and not only for fashion freaks!” (Bühne)

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..."

Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour was Rameau’s first exploration of the world of Egyptian mythology. Its libretto called for magic, gods and extraordinary natural effects to which he responded with one of his most comprehensively brilliant scores, blending a gallant and pastoral inspiration of extreme refinement with powerful vocal and orchestral writing. In his use of a fluid and continuous flow of music, in the theatrical deployment of choruses, and in the blurring of the distinction between recitatives and airs, Rameau entered a new and pioneering stage of development. The score heard in this performance is the authoritative version.

Also available in DVD!

Rameau’s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie delivered a lyrical tragedy of such extraordinary intensity it changed the course of French music, stunning and overwhelming its audiences. This breathtaking spectacle involves prince Hippolyte, who asks his mother-in-law Queen Phédre for help in wooing the beautiful Aricie, little knowing that Phèdre secretly wants Hippolyte for herself. In a single work Rameau re-invented tragédie en musique with dramatic expressiveness and shocking harmonic innovations. It is seen here in an acclaimed Opéra Comique production that personifies Rameau’s assertion that ‘music must speak to the soul, its true aim must be to express thoughts, feelings, and passions’.

Also available in Blu-ray!

Rameau’s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie delivered a lyrical tragedy of such extraordinary intensity it changed the course of French music, stunning and overwhelming its audiences. This breathtaking spectacle involves prince Hippolyte, who asks his mother-in-law Queen Phédre for help in wooing the beautiful Aricie, little knowing that Phèdre secretly wants Hippolyte for herself. In a single work Rameau re-invented tragédie en musique with dramatic expressiveness and shocking harmonic innovations. It is seen here in an acclaimed Opéra Comique production that personifies Rameau’s assertion that ‘music must speak to the soul, its true aim must be to express thoughts, feelings, and passions’.

Master of 18th century French opera, Rameau wrote for the stage for three decades (1733-1764). His thirty or so operatic works give considerable space to the haute-contre voice, the quintessence of most of the title roles: Platée, Dardanus, Hippolyte, Pygmalion… Mathias Vidal, a brilliant representative of this haute-contre tessitura, is one of its foremost specialists. Having sung the majority of Rameau’s operas on stage, he is an obvious paradigm of their characters. Together with Gaétan Jarry, he has conceived a programme of the most dazzling and expressive arias, to which have been added scenes accompanied by a chorus. This anthology brings to the fore the radiant voice of this pillar of the Royal Opera of Versailles. For this passionate singer of the French repertory, to record a recital dedicated to Pierre de Jelyotte, Rameau’s haute-contre, makes the theatricality of his music resound to a thrilling climax!

Gyorgy Vashegyi’s new recording of Rameau’s Dardanus superbly demonstrates the Dijon-born composer’s genius, but also the mastery which Vashegyi – with his Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir – has acquired in the music of the Late French Baroque. In conjunction with the preparation of a fresh edition for the Rameau Opera Omnia of the May 1744 version of Dardanus (under the aegis of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles), Vashegyi conducts from a score prepared by the composer (and his librettist Leclerc de La Bruere) following the work’s rejection by Paris Opera audiences in 1739, with the intention of reinforcing the tragedie’s dramatic action. Enacting this new sense of intensity on this Glossa release are Cyrille Dubois in the title role of the warrior besotted with Iphise (Judith Van Wanroij), traumatized by her “guilty love” for the enemy of her dour father, Teucer (Thomas Dolie), who allocates the princess’ marriage hand to a princely ally, Antenor (Tassis Christoyannis). With aid and abetment from Venus (Chantal Santon Jeffrey) and a Magician (Dolie again), Love conquers all. The dazzling array of solo singing featured here is accompanied, by turns, by joyful and mournful, festive and demonic choral interjections, the all couched in an exuberant, florid and decorative orchestral score (which includes the famous Chaconne).

With the creation of his masterpiece Les Indes galantes in 1735, Rameau renewed the genre of opera-ballet with the presentation of separate independent tableaux, to include a series of crazy love stories involving exotic peoples, treated in various manners: dramatic for The Generous Turk, tragic for The Incas of Peru and comic for The Savages. A phenomenal success with 320 performances! The young Valentin Tournet has chosen the 1761 version, which includes the Prologue followed by three Entrées. In The Incas entrée, the Earthquake and the descent of the High Priest into the underworld are extraordinary moments. The Turkish entrée opens with unbridled passion, dominated by a storm scene of extreme beauty. Finally, the famous Dance of the Savages could in itself sum up the whole of French opera of the 18th century. A splendid vocal cast makes splendid use of the evocative powers of the French language, at the heart of an orchestra at the service of Rameau’s delightful music, whose colors and sumptuousness shimmer thanks to Valentin Tournet.

Classical Music

Although celebrated for opera and harpsichord in his fifties, Rameau had formerly been first and foremost a master of sacred music. These works, composed between 1712 and 1721 when he was in his thirties, are marvels of balance, fully bearing the seeds of the splendor that Rameau would later display on the Parisian opera scene. In the French tradition of Lully and Lalande, which places the sacred text at the heart of a sumptuous musical performance, this complete set of Rameau’s Motets is performed with jubilation and grace by the soloists, the choir and the Marguerite Louise Orchestra under the inspired direction of Gaétan Jarry.

Rameau’s key forgotten comédie-lyrique is brought back to life: in 1760, at the age of 77, Les Paladins would be his last work performed in public. Inspired by the triumph of his other comedy, Platée, Rameau adds emphasis and excess, makes the orchestra gleam and the singers leap, with sharp turns in the comic tone and magnificent sentimental passages. Set in the fantastical Middle Ages, here is a comedy of characters brilliantly treated as caricatures: the beautiful Argie prisoner of the monstrous Orcan, the Paladin Atis reeing his bride, the Fairy Manto unleashing demons and furies, and transfiguring the castle with a dance of Pagodas and a Chinese entertainment! Valentin Tournet brings his magnificent soloists and the Chapelle Harmonique to life in this latest Rameau jewel!