Julian Pregardien, Les Epopees, Marie Perbost, Cyril Auvity And Gwendoline Blondeel Monteverdi: L'orfeo (2024)

The notion of interpretation constantly raises the question of how to read a score, and therefore of the very subject matter of the score. Particularly in the Baroque period, and especially in the seventeenth-century, the score is but an infrastructure that the composer leaves behind to allow his work to be brought to life. One should not be led astray by it as you might by a trompel'œil; it lacks a great deal of information: nuances, instrumentation, ornaments, playing styles, etc. The majority of these composers thus leave the performers a great deal of latitude for the completion of their scores in order to bring them to back to life.

Amongst several contemporaries of Scarlatti who devoted themselves to the solo cantata, one of the most prolific was influential globetrotter Giovanni Bononcini, who wrote up to 283. During the first quarter of the 18th century, Bononcini's cantatas represented the principal trend of this genre. In these works, a fluent and effective technique is combined with a real gift for the composition of melodies. These lamenti are the central element of Bononcini's dramatic works; his genius is perfectly adapted to tender and pathetic emotions. Another important aspect of his music is the magnificent use of the text. In 1789, Charles Burney called Bononcini "the most prolific cantatas composer" and claimed that Bononcini's recitatives were universally perceived as the best of their time. Now, Cyril Auvity and his ensemble L'Yriade offer an enthusiastic and totally committed interpretation of some of Bononcini's cantatas, revealing the extreme force of those magical works.

The surviving musical edition of Dutch Golden Age “Renaissance Man”, Constantijn Huygens receives a fresh new recording – issued on Glossa – from a singer who has become a connoisseur of vocal music from the seventeenth century: Cyril Auvity.

Ulysses and Monteverdi: passion and action at the heart of musical drama. Penelope sings of her endless wait, her hope to see the king of her heart again, while her suitors besiege her to take her hand and the throne. The return of Ulysses to Ithaca after twenty years of wandering brings the drama to a close. Travelling incognito disguised as an old man, he arrives at the palace for the contest that Penelope has arranged: whoever manages to bend Odysseus' former bow will have the hand of the queen. The old man in rags presents himself to the court, and achieves his revenge… Stéphane Fuget conducts this masterpiece, using every instrumental spell to fulfil his great ambition: to restore to Monteverdi's music and singing all of it's ornaments and colors, thanks to a magnificent cast and their passionate support.