Il Il Combattimento di Tancredi di Tancredi

Two highly dramatic short works by Monteverdi, Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Ballo delle ingrate are performed by distinguished French soloists with Jean-Claude Malgoire directing La Grande Ecurie et La Chambre du Roy.

This box set assembles the complete Monteverdi recordings that William Christie and Les Arts Florissants made for harmonia mundi over some fifteen years. Together, they constantly refreshed their inspiration at the wellspring of his finest and most famous madrigals, with a memorable incursion into the sacred repertory of the Selva morale.

« On retrouve…le même élan, cette beauté sonore, cette profonde musicalité »… »la musique émouvante, déchirante jusqu’au dernier soupir. Le théâtre n’est pas loin, mais le drame se dessine à l’opposé de tout excès, de toute solllicitation dramatique ou émotive. Nigel Rogers chante…avec un sens de la prosodie, une clarté d’élocution et une sobriété de la ligne musicale ». –Opéra International

The ensemble Les Arts Florissants, founded and for many years headed by American-French conductor William Christie, specializes in the music of the French Baroque. That might seem a poor fit with a greatest-hits collection like this one: surely anyone interested in the French Baroque will already have heard many of the selections included on this three-disc set, celebrating the group's 40th anniversary in 2019. Actually, though, the influence of Les Arts Florissants has been so fundamental that a survey of this kind is entirely appropriate. When Christie founded the ensemble in 1979, French Baroque music was a rare find on recordings. Les Arts Florissants has changed that completely, and Christie expanded the operation with an educational aspect that will keep the momentum going. The group contributed to the growing popularity of 17th century music outside of France, and the gorgeous Monteverdi recordings here (sample Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda) are the equal of any. The three discs in the package are divided into the categories of Music and Theater, Sacred Music, and Secular Music, the last covering chamber-sized groups.

This luxurious set containing 39 CDs, 3 DVDs, 1 CD-Rom and four detailed booklets will tell you the full story of Baroque opera in Italy, France, England, and Germany. No fewer than 17 complete operas (including two on DVD) and two supplementary CDs (the dawn of opera, Overtures for the Hamburg Opera) provide the most comprehensive overview of the genre ever attempted! The finest performers are assembled here under the direction of René Jacobs and William Christie to offer you 47 hours of music. An opportunity to discover or to hear again the masterpieces of Baroque opera, some of which have been unavailable on CD for many years.