Christophe Allain

Improvisations, free improvisations and medieval music from Codex Faenza (ca 1400) and Conrad Paumann (ca 1409-1473), plaid on Clavicymbalum, Clavicytherium and Clavichordium, all medieval keyboard instruments built by David Boinnard in Lille, France.

Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques make a foray into the Romantic repertoire with this tribute to Pauline Viardot, who was not only the most influential singer of the nineteenth century, but also a pedagogue and composer, whose gifts, personality and incomparable aura made her one of the leading figures of French Romanticism. Together the mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti and Christophe Rousset retrace Pauline Viardot’s versatile career and, taking up her great roles, present a musical portrait of a unique performer, who was unanimously acclaimed by the audiences of her time.

Ever since its creation more than twenty-five years ago, the Accentus chamber choir has ardently championed the a cappella repertory: under its conductor and founder Laurence Equilbey, it has produced an impressive discography that sets the benchmark in this music. For this new recording, the first for Alpha, she hands over direction of the ensemble to Christophe Grapperon, its associate conductor since 2013: ‘It can never be said often enough: the a cappella repertory is a Holy Grail of vocal music! It is a sensory experience directly accessible to everyone, but demanding and often atypical for the listener.’ Hahn and Saint-Saëns are on the programme of this album in superb choral works combining simplicity and expressive power, some of which have never been recorded before.

André Raison’s (1650-1719) biographical facts are so scattered, and they teach us so few about him, that he remains for us a quite poorly known musician: a hypothetical date of birth, a rather imprecise date of death, 1719, and a few pieces of information related to his education as well as his main positions – organist to the grand couvent et collège des Jacobins of rue Saint Jacques, and subsequently, to the “Royal” abbey of Sainte Geneviève du Mont where he had previously studied. We also know that Louis- Nicolas Clérambault, who dedicated to him his first and only organ works book in 1714 (date of publication as well of Raison’s second book), was his student.

Nine cello sonatas by Vivaldi have survived. Six of them were published as a set in Paris in about 1740; that set, mistakenly known as the composer's Op. 14, contains the sonatas recorded in this release. The three remaining sonatas come from manuscript collections. All but one of the six works are cast in the slow-fast-slow-fast pattern of movements of the sonata da chiesa. The odd one out, RV46, in fact, retains the four movement sequence but inclines towards the sonata da camera in the use of dance titles. The music of these sonatas is almost consistently interesting, often reaching high points of expressive eloquence, as we find, for example, in the justifiably popular Sonata in E minor, RV40. Christophe Coin brings to life these details in the music with technical assurance and a spirit evidently responsive to its poetic content. Particularly affecting instances of this occur in the third movements of the A minor and the E minor Sonatas where Coin shapes each phrase, lovingly achieving at the same time a beautifully sustained cantabile.

Handel's opera recorded live at the Semperoper, Dresden, in June 2000. Equal parts comedy, tragedy and romance, the story revolves around the love both Xerses, King of the Persians, and his brother Arsamenes have for Romilda. Christophe Rousset conducts Les Talens Lyriques, with performances by Paula Rasmussen, Ann Hallenberg, Patricia Bardon, Isabel Bayrakdarian and Matteo Peirone.

Christophe Goze is a familiar name in the circles of chilled global beats. Considered by music columnists as the creator of the "Arabiant" style, his fusion grooves have graced hundreds of compilations around the world, collectively selling over 2 million copies worldwide. He has collaborated with Le Cirque du Soleil, Yves St Laurent, Dannii Minogue, Melanie C, Cafe Del Mar, Buddha Bar, and wrote music for BBC, MTV, Channel 4, ZDF, National Geographic, France 3 and more. In the UK he received a prestigious TV advert best music nomination. Christophe is Known for his brilliant ability to blend world music with jazz and downtempo…