Lovers of Moliere are often deprived of an essential dimension of his output: the music! Several of his masterpieces, written in collaboration with Lully or Charpentier, regain their full meaning and profundity when heard with the original scores. In this respect, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants have been true pioneers for over forty years now: to accompany such legendary achievements as Le Malade imaginaire, they have recorded other, equally emblematic pieces from Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, George Dandin and Monsieur de Pourceaugnac specially for this new album.
The musical legacy of the Bach family is inseparably linked to the progress in instrument making of the time, which was dominated by the Silbermann family. Offering a fascinating comparison between the two dynasties-composers vs. Organ builders and fortepiano makers-for this recording, Louis-Noel Bestion de Camboulas and Les Surprises used superb copies of Silbermann instruments, but also a magnificent original: the famous Silbermann organ at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Freiberg, Saxony.
On the eve of a vigorous eightieth birthday, the most French of American musicians has chosen the Musee de la musique to assemble a host of young artists who are dear to him: William Christie has watched over their budding skills, and they have already become masters. This program celebrates the composers he has so passionately championed and, in some cases, brought back to life.
Almost twenty years ago, Isabelle Faust and Jiri Belohlavek established a new milestone in the discography of Dvorak's Violin Concerto. The coupling, the tumultuous Trio in F minor, inaugurated the violinist's long and fruitful collaboration with Alexander Melnikov and Jean-Guihen Queyras.
Inspired by the Psyche created collectively by Lully, Moliere, Corneille and Quinault, Locke's Psyche was a veritable artistic firework display: seeking to vie in splendor with the operas of continental Europe, it luxuriously combined theatre, song, dance, and spectacular machines and scenery. Sebastien Dauce here offers us his splendid reconstruction of this key masterpiece in the history of early English opera.
For their liturgical debuts in London and Leipzig respectively, Handel and Bach played the card of vocal and orchestral splendor. Whether celebrating the Peace of Utrecht (Handel's Te Deum) or the Nativity (Bach's Magnificat, performed here in it's original version), the RIAS Kammerchor offers us a flamboyant interpretation of these seminal works.
Pavel Kolesnikov’s deep affinity with the music of Chopin is once again on display: immaculate performances—and an intelligently planned recital, which builds towards the epic F minor Fantasy—can only enhance the listener’s appreciation of this much-loved repertoire.
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REVIEW:
Kolesnikov’s Chopin is exquisite, and this disc, a delicious sequence of confections, is one of the most enjoyable Chopin recitals of recent vintage.
