L'empire Islamique: Viie Xie Siècles

This release, part of harmonia mundi's series celebrating the Beethoven year, pairs the composer's iconic and much-loved Symphony No.5 with the far less well-known Symphony In 17 Parts by Francois-Joseph Gossec. The dramatic power and intensity of Beethoven stands in sharp contrast to to the cheerful and gallant music of Gossec. Les Siècles, led by François-Xavier Roth, apply their usual virtuosity and keen insight to both works in performances that are sure to delight.

Isabelle Faust and François-Xavier Roth explore here extremely contrasting facets of Stravinsky’s output for violin. From the Concerto to the Pastorale, the composer plays with codes and colours, sketching extraordinarily vivid soundscapes. Once again, the musicians of Les Siècles have succeeded in rediscovering the works’ original dynamic by using period instruments – and that changes everything!

Vous avez, cher lecteur, entre vos mains, un abrégé, où l'auteur s'est efforcé de vous transmettre, citations à l'appui, ce qu'était la position du Prophète et de ses Compagnons concernant le sujet religieux le plus délicat qui soit la croyance. Il y montra aussi les opinions déviantes qui entrent en contradiction avec elle, afin que les choses soient claires et évidentes pour vous.

Les Siècles is one of France's finest early music ensembles, and its work in repertoire from the Baroque era to the Romantic period is fascinating for its precision, attention to historical details, and most of all, commitment to original instrumentation.

Julie Park, notably the first violist to receive a Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary Scholarship, now makes her debut on Linn with a programme of works by York Bowen. Together with her duo pianist Michel Xie, they perform the Viola Concerto in C minor, Op. 25, and the Phantasy in F major, Op. 54. Both dedicated to viola virtuoso Lionel Tertis, these pieces successfully exhibit the compositional developments from the composer’s early years to his more mature style. Composed in 1907, the concerto mirrors Bowen’s youthfulness and energy, whereas the Phantasy, dated 1918, delves into a deeper, more mature Romanticism. In 2022, four exceptional recipients of the Academy’s 2020/21 Bicentenary Scholarships scheme – Julie Park, Camilla Harris, Ossian Huskinson and Charlie Lovell-Jones – will each release a new album to coincide with the Royal Academy of Music Bicentenary celebrations.

Pelléas et Mélisande has taken it's place as one of opera's greatest masterpieces. Debussy deployed a unique style in this work, flexible and natural, never forcing the prosody of words and phrases. In this new historically informed interpretation, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles have endeavored to do justice to this music that is at once so strong and so delicate, supported by a handpicked cast of today's finest French singers.

Written between 1887 and 1890, Gabriel Fauré's Requiem is among the best-loved pieces in the choral repertory. Traditionally, Requiems are serious, prayerful laments for the dead. Fauré's was altogether different. In place of the usual somber mood, his is noted for it's calm, serene and peaceful outlook. The composer revised and expanded the work several times, but it is the original version that is performed here using period instruments and performance practices. This sublimne recording, featuring Ensemble Aedes and Les Siècles led by Mathieu Romano, also includes Poulenc's Figure Humaine and Debussy's Trois Chansons

The practice of performing music on original instruments was once the exclusive domain of early music specialists who sought to revive the characteristic sounds of Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical instruments and ensembles scaled to proper size. The so-called "historically informed movement" eventually expanded into re-creating 19th century music, which yielded some ear-opening performances; but this practice soon began to overlap with modern interpretation and instrumentation, so the actual differences between period and modern strings or winds were minimal.