Rivales / Gens, Piau, Chauvin, La Concert de la Loge
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
-
UPC: 3760014198243
-
Catalog Number: ALPHA824
-
Label: Alpha
-
Number of Discs: 1
-
Period: Classical Era
-
Composer: Various
-
Conductor: Julien Chauvin
-
Orchestra/Ensemble: La Concert de la Loge
-
Performer: Gens, Piau, Le Concert De La Loge, Chauvin
Works:
-
La belle Arsène: Aria: Où suis-je?
Composer: Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny
Ensemble: Le Concert de la Loge
Performer: Sandrine Piau (Soprano)
Conductor: Julien Chauvin
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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