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CPO

Rebel: Les Elemens Suite; Rameau: Castor et Pollux Suite / Gaigg, L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra

$18.99

Details

Composer
REBEL RAMEAU
Artist
L'Orfeo Barockorchester, Gaigg
Format
CD
Label
CPO
Released
Jun 10, 2014
Catalog #
777914-2
UPC
761203791422

About


In 1737 at age 71, after more than four decades serving in numerous positions as a Court violinist, orchestra director, and part-time composer, Jean-Féry Rebel composed his profoundly unique ballet-suite Les élémens (the elements). In his description of the opening movement (included in the notes to Musica Antiqua Köln’s 1995 DG Archiv recording of the work) director/violinist Reinhard Goebel offers a telling assessment as to just how unique, if not important Rebel’s achievement was: “He [Rebel] discarded all formal fetters: neither concerto nor overture, neither sonata nor sinfonia, his ‘Le cahos’ [chaos] is the first free orchestral composition in the history of music, more tone-poem than programme music.”

Indeed, it’s doubtful that anyone new to or even familiar with this remarkable work won’t be shocked (and shocked again) by Rebel’s intention, as he states in his preface to Les élémens, to “dare to undertake to link the idea of the confusion of the elements with that of confusion in harmony”…to depict “Chaos itself, this confusion which reigned between the Elements [earth, air, fire, and water] before the instant when, subject to invariable laws, they took their prescribed place in the order of nature.” Imagine, as Catherine Cessac puts it in her insightful notes to Les Musiciens du Louvre’s 1993 Erato recording, “…a daring ‘cluster’ involving the simultaneous attack of every note in the D minor harmonic scale…”. Of course, by now you realize my point: Rebel’s Les élémens must truly be heard to be believed.

This recent 2014 CPO release featuring L’Orfeo Barockorchester directed by Michi Gaigg was originally issued on Capriccio’s Phoenix Edition in 2008. It’s an excellent performance (that brooding diminuendo and lengthy pause between the initial sustained “cluster” and the remainder of the first movement rivals Musica Antiqua Köln’s intensity) and sometimes quirky, as when the ensemble plays up the wide array of rhythmic and dynamic contrasts for dramatic effect. The tempos by and large are quicker than most, with the exception of the seventh-movement Tambourins where, like The Academy of Ancient Music (L’Oiseau-Lyre), the ensemble favors a more measured pace before gradually gaining momentum near the end. All in all, this is a beautiful and at times spectacular offering.

Rameau’s Castor et Pollux suite also receives an exemplary performance, in some respects bettering my reference recording by Frans Brüggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century (Philips). Gaigg has better instincts in shaping the suite as a whole, as well as an ability to better draw out instrumental texture and detail (compare their renderings of “Troisième air pour les athlétes” and the “Premier passepied pour les ombres heureuses”, for instance). This makes a nice, fitting choice to conclude the program.

The sound is remarkably good with excellent transparency in the woodwinds, strings, and percussion. Given Les élémens’ relative obscurity, there have been a few wonderful recordings (including a chamber version by the Palladian Ensemble that David Hurwitz favorably reviewed here). The one not to be missed, however, remains the previously mentioned Academy of Ancient Music performance directed by the late period-instrument visionary Christopher Hogwood. It was recorded in 1980, and every performance since that one is still very much indebted to Hogwood’s ground-breaking undertaking. Kudos to CPO for reissuing this worthy successor. Highly recommended.

-- John Greene, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 27 tracks

  1. 1 I. Le Cahos 05:48
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Le Cahos
    Duration
    05:48
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  2. 2 II. Loure, "La Terre et l'Eau" - Air pour les violons - 02:09
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Loure, "La Terre et l'Eau" - Air pour les violons -
    Duration
    02:09
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  3. 3 III. Chaconne, "Le Feu" 02:41
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Chaconne, "Le Feu"
    Duration
    02:41
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  4. 4 IV. Ramage, "L'Air" 01:13
    Track
    4
    Title
    IV. Ramage, "L'Air"
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  5. 5 V. Rossignols 01:24
    Track
    5
    Title
    V. Rossignols
    Duration
    01:24
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  6. 6 VI. Loure, "La Chasse" 01:46
    Track
    6
    Title
    VI. Loure, "La Chasse"
    Duration
    01:46
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  7. 7 VII. Tambourin I-II 02:15
    Track
    7
    Title
    VII. Tambourin I-II
    Duration
    02:15
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  8. 8 VIII. Sicilienne 01:26
    Track
    8
    Title
    VIII. Sicilienne
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  9. 9 IX. Rondeau, "Air pour l'Amour" 01:19
    Track
    9
    Title
    IX. Rondeau, "Air pour l'Amour"
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  10. 10 X. Caprice 02:46
    Track
    10
    Title
    X. Caprice
    Duration
    02:46
    Composer
    Jean-Féry Rebel
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  11. 11 Ouverture 04:42
    Track
    11
    Title
    Ouverture
    Duration
    04:42
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  12. 12 Act I: Menuet I - 01:02
    Track
    12
    Title
    Act I: Menuet I -
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  13. 13 Act I: Tambourin 00:46
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act I: Tambourin
    Duration
    00:46
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  14. 14 Act I: Menuet II 01:17
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act I: Menuet II
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  15. 15 Act I: Tambourin (da capo) 00:38
    Track
    15
    Title
    Act I: Tambourin (da capo)
    Duration
    00:38
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  16. 16 Act II: Prelude 02:17
    Track
    16
    Title
    Act II: Prelude
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  17. 17 Act II: Air des Athletes III 01:10
    Track
    17
    Title
    Act II: Air des Athletes III
    Duration
    01:10
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  18. 18 Act II: Air pour Hebe et ses suivantes - Sarabande 03:31
    Track
    18
    Title
    Act II: Air pour Hebe et ses suivantes - Sarabande
    Duration
    03:31
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  19. 19 Act III: Air des Demons II 01:16
    Track
    19
    Title
    Act III: Air des Demons II
    Duration
    01:16
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  20. 20 Act IV: Loure 02:19
    Track
    20
    Title
    Act IV: Loure
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  21. 21 Act IV: Gavotte 00:58
    Track
    21
    Title
    Act IV: Gavotte
    Duration
    00:58
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  22. 22 Act IV: Passepied I - 00:26
    Track
    22
    Title
    Act IV: Passepied I -
    Duration
    00:26
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  23. 23 Act IV: Passepied II - 00:52
    Track
    23
    Title
    Act IV: Passepied II -
    Duration
    00:52
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  24. 24 Act IV: Passepied I (da capo) 00:31
    Track
    24
    Title
    Act IV: Passepied I (da capo)
    Duration
    00:31
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  25. 25 Act V: Entree des Astres 02:10
    Track
    25
    Title
    Act V: Entree des Astres
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  26. 26 Act V: Gigue 02:32
    Track
    26
    Title
    Act V: Gigue
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg
  27. 27 Act V: Chaconne 05:13
    Track
    27
    Title
    Act V: Chaconne
    Duration
    05:13
    Composer
    Jean-Philippe Rameau
    Ensemble
    L'Orfeo Barockorchester
    Conductor
    Michi Gaigg