Jean Richard

Comment un souverain autoritaire et dont les agents avaient la poigne rude est-il devenu la figure la plus vénérée de l'histoire de France, le roi dont Voltaire disait qu'il n'était pas possible de pousser la vertu plus loin que lui? …

Les croisades ! Le mot est aujourd'hui utilisé en toute occasion. Pourtant que savons-nous vraiment de ce formidable mouvement qui démarra voici neuf siècles, à l'appel du pape Urbain II ? Des dizaines de milliers d'hommes se lancèrent dans une première expédition dont les objectifs ne sont pas toujours clairs. Il fallait sans doute exporter la violence que les combattants entretenaient dans le monde occidental, mais un but spirituel guidait surtout les hommes de guerre qui endossaient la croix pour partir à la conquête des Lieux saints. Ensuite porter secours aux royaumes chrétiens d'Orient devint une obligation. …

Cet ebook est une version numérique du guide papier sans interactivité additionnelle. L'auteur-phare des guides de jeux de piste a passé le périphérique et s'est amusé à concocter 18 parcours-découverte dans certaines des plus belles villes proches de Paris (accessibles en transports en commun). D'énigmes en réflexions, suivez le jeu de pistes et découvrez une datcha, une ancienne guinguette dans un arbre, une plage de sable fin, une cité-jardin et ses canaux…

Ce disque est plein de charme. La rencontre de ces deux artistes met en évidence leur richesse personnelle… Sans être absolu, ce CD est très agréable à écouter, pour celui qui aime la musique. Pour exemple, je choisirai la deuxième partie de "Blues sur seine"; de l'accordéon et de la contrabasse au sommet.
Un plaisir…

Gretry's "Richard Coeur De Lion" (1784), a rousing tale about the rescue of the crusader king Richard the Lionheart by his faithful troubadour Blondel, is a minor masterpiece, the greatest French opera comique of the Ancien Regime. Gretry wasn't an eighteenth century composer of the calibre of Mozart, Rameau or his contemporary Gluck, but his music seduced audiences with its charm and tunefulness and in this opera he provided a great deal more. Blondel's stirring aria of loyalty to his king, "O Richard, oh mon roi", was so powerful it was used as an anthem by the royalists in the 1790s and promptly banned by the revolutionary authorities.

Tango accordion has a clear icon in the late Astor Piazzolla, but these days Richard Galliano is making a strong case for being the premier jazz accordionist. He's as lyrical as one needs, swings like mad, or brings tempos down to a sensual jog with passion and soul. When called upon, he can play a gut-wrenching tango or two himself. For this effort he's joined by two different crack rhythm sections, the brilliant Jean-François Jenny-Clark and Daniel Humair (seven tracks), or the slightly cut below Remi Vignolo and Andre Ceccarelli (four tracks), bass and drums respectively. It's not hard to hear a distinctly French but improvisationally Americanized sound. The lone standard, "You Must Believe in Spring", is one of many waltzes, but this one jumps from second to fifth gear, Galliano rapidly flying through the changes. The title track is also quick, with "Augusta" more a sprightly 3/4, while "L'Envers du Décor" is an easier modal three beat. Nods to Brazilian Hermeto Pascoal are heard on his composition "Bébé" and the mallets on drums and heavy conga beat-based fanfare and theme of "Passarinho".

'The dreamer! That double of our existence, that chiaroscuro of the thinking being', wrote Gaston Bachelard in 1961. 'The old is dying, the new cannot be born, and in that chiaroscuro, monsters appear', adds Antonio Gramsci. Sandrine Piau has chosen to use these two quotations as an epigraph to her new recording: 'My family and friends know about this obsession that never leaves me completely. The antagonism between light and darkness. The chiaroscuro, the space in between…'

"Described as an Opera-Ballet in four Acts, Les Indes Galantes was Rameau's biggest stage success in his own lifetime, and one can understand why from this spectacular production, staged at the Paris Opéra in 2004. The director, Andrei Serban, presents the piece with the sort of lavish effects and movement that would have delighted 18th-century audiences…Outstanding among the soloists are Nathan Berg as Huascar…Anna Maria Panzarella as Emilie and Paul Agnew as Valere, with Joao Fernandez memorably in drag as Bellone. The final curtain brings an exuberant encore after the credits, with Christie hilariously joining in the dance.