Le Insalate Superdimagranti

‘Well, what a surprise – a divine surprise! I have delighted in immersing myself in the world of Handel for more than forty years now. But I must admit that I experienced yet another lesson in strength and joy when I toured and recorded the Dettingen Te Deum and the Coronation Anthems ’, says Hervé Niquet. As a lover of large orchestral formations, he has assembled a number of instrumentalists and singers close to the (gigantic) forces used at the premiere, with a large band of oboes, bassoons and trumpets, and assigned the solo arias to the entire ‘chapel’. Niquet speaks of ‘the glittering power of this ceremonial music concocted by a Handel conscious of placing the best of his genius at the service of the crown and of history’, and he in turn invests all his enthusiasm and expressiveness in these works combining ‘grace and strength’. Fans of Champions League football will recognise in Zadok the Priest the theme of that competition’s anthem!

In the second half of the seventeenth century, London experienced an artistic golden age, with the arrival of many foreign musicians and the proliferation of theatres and concert halls where audiences came to listen to the stars of the moment. One of these musicians was the Italian Nicola Matteis, who arrived around 1660 and became the sensation of the London music scene. Purcell was only a child at the time and there is no record of their meeting, but it is very likely that he was familiar with Matteis’s works, including his Ayres , recorded here for the first time in a version for four-part consort. Exploration of this London effervescence yields to some surprising discoveries, such as the music of a mysterious composer who published trio sonatas around 1715 under the name Mrs Philarmonica. Le Consort presents the very first recording of this highly interesting music, probably influenced by Corelli and very likely written by a woman composer who, given the conventions of the time, made use of a pseudonym. Her true identity is unfortunately unknown to us.

More than the compilation series, more than the lovingly organised events, more than the radio shows: "Le Café Abstrait" is a philosophy of lifestyle: relaxed and culturally open-minded.
It was "Le Café Abstrait" and its mastermind, Raphaël Marionneau, who pioneered chill-out culture at Hamburg's internationally renown Mojo club in 1996: "Le Café Abstrait" reinvented nightclubbing in a new relaxing way. Once a month, stylish sofa installations and light projections transformed Mojo's dancefloor into a gigantic living room. There, up to 400 laid-back nightlife connoisseurs indulged in relaxation and Raphaël Marionneau's very special downtempo music selections. A new lifestyle was born: the couch culture…

Stereo Deluxe present Le Café Abstrait Vol. 9. 30 excellent Chillout and Downtempo tracks: Electrix, Eskadet, Tripswitch, Bob Holroyd, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Solar Fields, Lemongrass and many more.

Miniaturas lunares est une expérience acoustique qui établit des ponts entre les musiques populaires, classiques et contemporaines. Miniaturas lunares est une succession de fragments sonores très courts, des histoires minimales qui s’enchaînent. Ces miniatures alternent des poèmes, des chansons et des morceaux de musique instrumentale. J’ai imaginé une série de musiques extrêmement légères et éphémères. Des moments de vie très intimes où l’on s’attache au présent pour que le temps s’allonge et devienne élastique. Des instants de joie, de mélancolie, de surprises, détonants, d’humeur mais aussi des instants nostalgiques qui se succèdent vertigineusement.

Following the success of his solo recordings, Paolo Zanzu returns at the head of his ensemble Le Stagioni with ‘Officina Romana’, featuring the countertenor Carlo Vistoli. In the early eighteenth century, Rome was one of the great music capitals of Europe. In the space of a few years, Corelli, Handel, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, Caldara, Cesarini and many others crossed paths there, surrounded by painters, sculptors, poets and philosophers who were among the great names of the age. The fruit of long reflection and research, ‘Officina Romana’ crystallises this unique moment in the history of music by recreating an idealised musical evening, a conversazione, a sort of liberal meeting of lofty minds in the palace of a Roman cardinal, with a programme mingling vocal and instrumental music in both orchestral and chamber formation.

More than the compilation series, more than the lovingly organised events, more than the radio shows: "Le Café Abstrait" is a philosophy of lifestyle: relaxed and culturally open-minded.
It was "Le Café Abstrait" and its mastermind, Raphaël Marionneau, who pioneered chill-out culture at Hamburg's internationally renown Mojo club in 1996: "Le Café Abstrait" reinvented nightclubbing in a new relaxing way. Once a month, stylish sofa installations and light projections transformed Mojo's dancefloor into a gigantic living room. There, up to 400 laid-back nightlife connoisseurs indulged in relaxation and Raphaël Marionneau's very special downtempo music selections. A new lifestyle was born: the couch culture…