((sandrine Piau, Le Solistes du Concert Spirituel Clerambault Orphee Leandre et Hero (soprano Cantatas) (1998)

Sandrine Piau does it again or should I say she did it already! This collection of superb Handel arias from '96 could be considered an earlier version or forerunner of the recently released Handel Opera Seria, and certainly very complementary to it. The ensemble she plays with is different (Fabio Bondi and his charismatic Europa Galante players), possibly somewhat less refined from the "early music" style perspective but this consideration is blown away by the dramatic presence and the stellar precision of this non-pareil Baroque vocalist.

Soprano Sandrine Piau has been known mostly as a Baroque specialist, but she has recorded several albums of 19th century French mélodies with spectacular results. Si j'ai aimé (the title comes from one of three songs by the little-known Théodore Dubois) will be very hard for her to outdo. The list of attractions is very long and begins with the repertory. There are some familiar pieces here, such as the opening pair of songs by Saint-Saëns, but many of the composers – Dubois, Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant – are rarely performed, at least outside France, and all the songs here are top-notch.

Sandrine Piau’s first recital for the ALPHA Label, with Susan Manoff (Chimères – Alpha 397), proved an enormous hit (Diapason d’Or of the year, Choc of the year, and Gramophone Editor’s Choice). Her new project is a recital with orchestra celebrating French song of the period when it moved from the private salon to the concert hall. Planned in partnership with the Palazzetto Bru Zane, this programme evokes anticipation, desire, pleasure, memory, in short all the vagaries of love experienced by a romantic heroine… To verses of the poets Hugo, Lamartine, Gautier, and Verlaine, Sandrine Piau has selected song settings by Saint-Saëns (L’attente, Papillons), Massenet (Extase, Aimons-nous), and Vierne, as well as by the rarely-heard Dubois, Guilmant, and Bordes…

To mark the centenary of the death of Camille Saint-Saëns, the Palazzetto Bru Zane offers a chance to discover one of his most performed and admired operas in his lifetime, presented here in a rare version. Completed in 1893 and premiered the same year at the Opéra-Comique, the piece amusingly recounts the love affair between Nicias and Phryné, who dupes the old archon Dicephilus in order to avenge his cruelty. Its witty melodies and delightful orchestration made the opera an immediate success in Paris and then throughout France. It was enriched with recitatives composed by André Messager in 1896 to promote its career in theatres abroad. Hervé Niquet’s dashing interpretation brings out to the full the qualities of the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie and the Chœur du Concert Spirituel, thus providing a sparkling backdrop for the virtuosic soprano voice of Florie Valiquette, the refined lyricism of the tenor Cyrille Dubois and the vocal authority of Thomas Dolié’s baritone.

En ce début de troisième millénaire, ce n’est plus d’une simple évolution dont nous avons besoin, mais bien d’une mutation profonde. Selon Albert Einstein, ce n’est pas avec les idées et les concepts qui ont généré les difficultés que nous connaissons que nous pourrons les résoudre. Il faut inventer autre chose. …

Vous avez attrapé le virus du voyage ? Préparer des plats du monde entier est un excellent remède. Ces 117 recettes ont été testées et leur temps de préparation est d’une trentaine de minutes. Les repas rapides s’avèrent être délicieux surtout en cuisinant en fonction des saisons. Et de plus, vous ferez des économies en achetant des fruits et légumes de saison. …