French Thomas

Bourgeois was born in Hainault, which today is a province of Belgium. Between 1700 and 1705 he was active as a church musician in Toul and Strasbourg, then went to Paris to sing as an haute-contre in the Académie Royale de Musique. He also gave music lessons and published his first compositions: a book with chamber cantatas and two ballet operas. In 1721 he was in charge of the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels. He was forced to leave because of financial mismanagement, and went to The Hague, where he headed the French theatre.

This must be one of the most important historical documents ever to appear from previously unavailable archives. Much as we admire and praise Davis’s Berlioz (whose latest Trojans we reviewed last month)‚ Beecham has to be at least his peer on this and much other evidence. His arresting‚ inspiriting and brilliantly crafted performance here is a thing to marvel at in its understanding of the true Berlioz spirit. He persuades his newly formed RPO and the BBC Theatre Chorus of the day into giving quite thrilling accounts of their music that not even indifferent sound can mar. Beecham was to have returned‚ at Covent Garden‚ to the grand masterpiece in 1960‚ but that was not to be: a severe stroke prevented what would surely have been his crowning service to Berlioz right at the end of his distinguished career.

On the album "Bach Mirror" the French pianist Thomas Enhco and marimba player Vassilena Serafimova give well-known and less well-known works by Johann Sebastian Bach an innovative sound. Pieces such as the Prelude No. 2 from the Well-Tempered Clavier or the Air from the orchestral suite No. 3 sound new and fresh in the unusual instrumentation of piano and marimba. With their sound painting arrangements, Thomas Enhco and Vassilena Serafimova expose Bach's harmonic-melodic work structures and enable the audience to gain new perspectives on the architecture of his unique compositions.

A live recording of Don Giovanni from the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, recorded on May 23rd 2013, featuring the 'Balthasar-Neumann Choir & Ensdemble', conducted & directed by Thomas Hengelbrock. Erwin Schrott performing in his most celebrated role, Don Giovanni. Featuring a stellar cast of singers – Erwin Schrott, Anna Netrebko, Luca Pisaroni, Malena Ernman. “Schrott creates Don Giovanni in all his malevolent glory — virile, confident, arrogant. He is bursting with animal sexuality, yet manages to hint at the manic obsession that drives the character. Stunning” (Opera Today).

The great guitar enthusiast and humble disciple of Django Reinhardt, Thomas Dutronc returns with the project he has always dreamed of: "Frenchy". After four albums and hundreds of concerts in France, Thomas returns with a "French themed" album addressing the greatest classics of the French musical heritage. Dutronc honors the work of the great French songwriters whose melodies have toured the world. Features Diana Krall, Iggy Pop, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Goldblum, Haley Reinhardt and more.