In the midst of the artistic debate between the German and Italian styles, as the Age of Enlightenment was lighting up its final fires during the reign of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, Johann Christian Bach (the youngest of the sons of the great Johann Sebastian) was presenting to Paris his Amadis de Gaule. Reduced and revised from a libretto of Quinault for Lully, this operatic work is shot through from one end to the other with the first frissons of the awakening Romanticism. Under the direction of Didier Talpain, a leading specialist in this repertoire, and played on period instruments, Amadis de Gaule demanded a solo team seasoned in the heroism of the tragédies lyriques in the Gluckian manner. In Pierre-Yves Pruvot, Hjördis Thébault, Philippe Do and Katia Vellétaz one finds on this recording a quartet remarkable for their range of colours and balance, all four equipped with exemplary diction and a shared dramatic sensibility which is both poignant and passionate.
Legros - haute-contre de Gluck / van Mechelen, A Nocte Temporis
Alpha
CD
$20.99Sep 22, 2023
Tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen concludes his trilogy dedicated to hautes-contre with "Legros; Gluck's haute-contre". Joseph Legros (1739-1793) was a singer at the Paris Opéra; renowned for his extraordinary musical abilities; wide range and brilliant high notes. “His contemporaries appreciated the fact that his vocal delivery was not forced and that his taste was less mannered than that of his predecessors. His pronunciation was perfect and his face pleasing; although he did not cut a graceful figure and his stage acting left something to be desired” writes Benoit Dratwicki; of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles; which is a partner in this series... Legros sparked renewed interest among modern composers for the haute-contre voice. The first to write for him were La Borde; Trial and Berton. Then came Gossec (Alexis et Daphné) and Grétry (Céphale et Procris). In 1774; Gluck's arrival in Paris marked a turning point in Legros's career: he made a name for himself in Orphée et Eurydice; caused a sensation in Iphigénie en Aulide and Iphigénie en Tauride... The title roles in Amadis de Gaule by J. C. Bach and Piccinni's Atys were the last roles in which he shone. After Legros; the haute-contre voice gradually disappeared; giving way to that of the "true tenor"; a more powerful voice; but one that had difficulty tackling the high register of the old repertoire...
