Lully Christophe Rousset

Following on the international success of their recording of Lully's Bellerophon, Christophe Rousset and his ensemble Les Talens Lyriques present Hercule mourant (Hercules Dying) - an undiscovered operatic treasure by Antoine Dauvergne. When Francoeur and Rebel took over as directors of the Academie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opéra) in 1757, they decided to promote some of the new generation of composers. Among them was Dauvergne, who appears to have enjoyed great favor at that time. Premiered in 1762, Hercule mourant was a success, receiving eighteen performances.

C'est le temps où la France de l'Age Classique n'en finissait pas d'opposer le style italien - personnifié alors par le grand virtuose et compositeur Corelli - au style français, associé comme on le sait à Lully, dont le nom n'avait pourtant de français que ce "y" final ! Mais François Couperin ne prit jamais parti, tant ces deux "goûts" lui paraissaient d'égale valeur : c'est ainsi qu'il rendit dans un premier temps hommage à Corelli, à travers cette grande sonade (sic) conçue comme une apothéose. Un an plus tard, L'Apothéose "composée à la mémoire immortelle de l'incomparable Monsieur" de Lully lui offrira un contrepoint fameux, tout à la gloire de la musique française…

The remarkable French harpsichordist Christophe Rousset tackles Rameau’s relatively unknown instrumental transcription of his popular opéra-ballet, Les Indes Galantes.
Christophe Rousset plays Rameau’s instrumental transcription of Les Indes Galantes on the stunning 18th century Jean-Henry Hemsch harpsichord. Public disapproval to the premiere of the opéra-ballet led to Rameau not only omitting the recitatives and its controversial passages, but to transcribing the whole work for instruments. He re-grouped the remaining pieces according to their keys into what he called ‘quatre grands concerts’ or concert suites.

Armida abbandonata is one of Niccolo Jommelli's finest operas. It was the first he composed after returning to Naples from his triumphant years in Stuttgart (1754-1769), receiving its first performance at the Teatro San Carlo on May 30, 1770. Among those who attended was the 14-year old Mozart, whose report that Armida was "beautiful, but too serious and old-fashioned for the theater," has been frequently quoted and almost as frequently misunderstood. "The theater" almost certainly refers specifically to the San Carlo, which did indeed find Armida "too serious," in the sense of its harmonic and orchestral complexity, ironically a criticism Mozart himself would later encounter in Vienna.

L’histoire entre Les talens Lyriques, Christophe Rousset et Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687) est l’histoire d’une réussite. Les sept disques (Persée, Roland, Armide, Amadis, Phaéton, Bellérophon et cet Alceste) du compositeur d'origine italienne naturalisé français enregistrés par l’ensemble et le chef et claveciniste Français sont tous un véritable succès critique. En quelques années, Les talens Lyriques et Christophe Rousset sont passés maître du style et de l’écriture Lulliste au point d’être devenus un (le ?) véritable intournable du genre.

Following on acclaimed releases of Bellerophon and Phaeton, Christophe Rousset continues his revival of Lully's tragedies lyriques for the Aparte label with Amadis. One of the composer's finest scores, Amadis is a masterpiece of French Baroque music. It was Louis XIV himself who asked Lully and his librettist Quinault to base an opera on Montalvo's Amadis de Gaula. Avoiding the usual mythological subjects gave the composer and librettist an opportunity to expand the scope of the tragedie lyrique genre.

Founded in 1991 by Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques are now internationally recognised for their excellence in the Baroque repertoire and their latest recordings in the genre, for Aparté, have earned them international acclaim. After the huge success of 'Bellérophon', they now present Lully's 'Phaéton', recorded at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in October 2012. The critics commented on the admirable clarity and precision of the performance, the perfection of the choruses, sung with veracity by the Namur Chamber Choir, and an ideal cast.

This opera concerns Perseus, his love for Andromeda, and his killing of the snake-headed gorgon Medusa. Jean-Baptiste Lully clearly meant the heroic Perseus to stand for Louis XIV, who commissioned the work. Indeed, while Persee is not on stage all the time, he is the central character of this lengthy, ceremonial, beautifully scored work. Those who love the peculiar formalities of French Baroque opera will need no coaxing.