Jeanne M. Haskin

As a one-of-a kind company, standing at the crossroads between musical, lyrical and theatrical worlds, Les Monts du Reuil specialises in the forgotten treasures of French opera. Here, it offers a distinctively rare program centred around the fables of La Fontaine, which unearthes two comic operas based on the works of the fabulist: Le Magnifique [The Magnificent] by André Grétry and L'Éclipse totale [The Total Eclipse] by Nicolas Dalayrac, which was reconstructed for the occasion, and recorded here for the first time. In their selection of the tastiest excerpts alternating from a small aria to a duet or a horse-racing brass fanfare, the musicians highlight the refinement, lightness and humor typically found in French lyrical art from this era.

No opera composer of the Baroque era invested his stage works with more imaginative orchestral music than Jean-Philippe Rameau. The adventurous wind orchestration, rhythmic drive and variety, and complex interplay of voices found in his interludes, dances, and preludes are immediately striking to modern ears in a way that only the dedicated orchestral works of other Baroque masters can match (think Handel's Royal Fireworks Music, for example).

Pour rendre hommage à la grande actrice dont le nom est indissociable de la Chanson, ce coffret réunit pour la 1ère fois les 29 chansons que Serge Rezvani alias Bassiak a écrites pour Jeanne Moreau dans la foulée du Tourbillon de la vie. Jacques Canetti les a enregistrées en 1963, puis en 1966, avec comme orchestrateurs deux grands noms du jazz : Ward Swingle et Elek Bacsik.

The well-known painting of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach reproduced on the cover of this CD must be one of the most immediately attractive composer portraits ever made. The wide-brimmed hat, the fur-lined coat, the wisp of steely hair and, above all, the reddened but unmistakably genial face (displaying, if I’m not mistaken, his father’s nose) suggest a man one would want to accompany straightaway to the nearest coffee-house. But Friedemann was actually a little more complex than that, both as a person who could be lazy and argumentative and as a talented musician torn between the styles of the late baroque and early classical periods, so it is perhaps no surprise to find that there is considerable variety in the music on this disc.

De sa naissance à Domrémy en 1412 à sa mort sur le bûcher en 1431, Jeanne d'Arc bouleverse le cours de la guerre de Cent Ans, nourrit l'imaginaire et catalyse les passions. Cette biographie invite à découvrir cette figure de proue du récit national, tour à tour icône monarchiste, sainte canonisée et victime de l'obscurantisme religieux. …

Une biographie de Jeanne d'Arc, qui fut condamnée au bûcher pour hérésie, brûlée vive et canonisée en 1920. …

Music Director of Tafelmusik from 1981 to 2014, Jeanne Lamon was loved by audiences, and praised by critics in Europe and North America for her virtuosity as a violinist and her brilliant musical leadership. Under her direction, Tafelmusik achieved international stature with over 80 recordings to its name, and with tours to over 350 international cities including invitations to the most prestigious concert halls and festivals in the world.