Rivales / Gens, Piau, Chauvin, La Concert de la Loge

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Sandrine Piau and Véronique Gens have a longstanding rapport and dreamed of making a recording together. Here they pay tribute to two singers who, like them, were born within a year of each other, Mme Dugazon (1755-1821) and Mme Saint-Huberty (1756-1812): both enjoyed triumphant careers in Paris, inspiring numerous librettists and composers. Gluck even nicknamed Saint-Huberty ‘Madame-la-Ressource’, while ‘a Dugazon’ became a generic name for the roles of naïve girls in love, and later of comical mothers. Rivals? They very likely were, given the quarrelsome spirit of the operatic world of the time, even if they never crossed paths on stage. Intermingling airs and duets, Piau and Gens here play the heroines of Gluck, Grétry, Monsigny, J. C. Bach, Piccinni, Edelmann and Cherubini. Developed in collaboration with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles, this program on the cusp between Classicism and pre-Romanticism is very much the heart of the repertory championed by Julien Chauvin’s Le Concert de la Loge.

REVIEW:

I don’t know about any rivalry here, but Gens and Piau, both of whom have complete mastery over this repertoire, function extremely well individually (as one might expect) and in duo. They are backed up by a fine and sensitive instrumental ensemble which outlines the highly dramatic content of these arias with a fine sense of the style and good sound that never overwhelms. To be sure, we can obtain the Gluck and Sacchini elsewhere, but the remainder consists of little-known but equally dramatic and well-composed music. Still, this glimpse into the repertoire of the Parisian opera world of the 18th century is well worth obtaining, not only for the premieres of pieces but the artistry of both sopranos as well.

-- Fanfare



Product Description:

  • Release Date: April 08, 2022


  • Catalog Number: ALPHA824


  • UPC: 3760014198243


  • Label: Alpha


  • Number of Discs: 1


  • Period: Classical Era


  • Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  • Orchestra/Ensemble: La Concert de la Loge



Works:

  1. La belle Arsène: Aria: Où suis-je?

    Composer: Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  2. Ariane dans l'isle de Naxos: Mais Thésée est absent

    Composer: Jean-Friedrich Edelmann

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  3. La clemenza di Scipione, W. G10, Act I: Recitative: Me infelice!

    Composer: Johann Christian Bach

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano), Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  4. La clemenza di Tito, Act II: Se mai senti spirarti sul volto

    Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  5. Alceste, Act I: Divinites du Styx, ministres de la mort

    Composer: Christoph Willibald Gluck

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  6. Fanny Morna, ou l'écossaise: Aria: Ô divinité tutélaire

    Composer: Louis-Luc Loiseau de Persuis

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  7. L'embarras des richesses: Aria: Dès notre enfance unis tous deux

    Composer: Andre-Ernest-Modeste Gretry

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  8. Demophon: Un moment à l'autel

    Composer: Luigi Cherubini

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano), Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  9. Renaud, Act II: Air: Barbare amour! tyran des cœurs!

    Composer: Antonio Sacchini

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  10. Aucassin et Nicolette: Aria: Cher objet de ma pensée

    Composer: Andre-Ernest-Modeste Gretry

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin


  11. Camille, ou Le souterrain: Duet: Ciel protecteur des malheureux

    Composer: Nicolas-Marie Dalayrac

    Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge

    Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano), Véronique Gens (Soprano)

    Conductor: Julien Chauvin