Marc Antoine

Anyone who appreciates the richness of Spanish music (be it traditional flamenco or the popular "flamenco rock" of the 1970s, '80s and '90s) can't help but take notice when an album is titled Madrid. This effort by guitarist Marc Antoine was recorded with the so-called "smooth jazz" market in mind. Imagine the most laid-back recordings of Earl Klugh, Lee Ritenour, or Grant Geissman having Spanish overtones, and you can get an idea what Antoine sounds like on such lightweight tunes as "Jazzenco," "Plaza Mayor," and "Sunland." Antoine's albums may have wound up in the jazz bins, but this CD is would be more at home in "new age with a beat.

A contemporary of Lully and Lalande, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) was something of an outsider to the French court of Louis XIV, which helps to explain his comparative obscurity. A period of study in Rome doubtless gave Charpentier exposure to the polychoral style long-established from the time of Gabrieli, and this recording presents the triple-choir Salve Regina alongside the opulent Messe à quatre chœurs – written for four separate choirs, with a large continuo team of four organs, four theorbos, bass viol and great bass viol! The possibilities opened up by such a wealth of musicians engender music which seems as close to the proverbial “choir of the angels of heaven” as could be desired.

The myth of Orpheus–the divine musician who went to Hades to rescue his bride Eurydice from the dead and whose song actually persuaded Pluto to release her–has been irresistible to operatic composers from Monteverdi to Offenbach. One of the happiest rediscoveries of the Baroque revival is this lovely one-act chamber opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, which combines the gentle lilt typical of French Baroque music with the beautiful melodies and delicious suspensions in which Charpentier excelled. Charpentier diverged from the myth in one important respect: he omitted the tragic ending in which Orpheus loses Eurydice a second time, instead allowing the couple to live happily ever after.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier was neglected for centuries after his death, but by the late 20th century increased frequency of performances and recordings revealed him as one of the geniuses of the Baroque. He had a distinctive, individual voice and a gift for subtle emotional expression capable of evoking the most profound grief, as well as a loopy humor rarely associated with music of his era.

Smooth world-fusion guitarist, Marc Antoine takes you to LAGUNA BEACH by way of his new music. His first new collection of songs in several years. Available on Woodward Avenue Records.

Charpentier’s Médée is one of the glories of the Baroque. Medea’s betrayal by Jason, her comprehensive revenge and the plight of those caught up in this epic tragedy prompted Charpentier to compose music of devastating power. Transcending the constraints of the Lullian tragédie lyrique, he produced characterisations of astonishing complexity and invested vast stretches of music with a dramatic pace and a harmonic richness rivalled among contemporaries only by Purcell. The electrifying exchanges of the third act, mingling pathos with extreme violence, alone put Charpentier on the same imaginative level as Rameau and Berlioz. The machinations of the fourth act and the dénouement in the fifth maintain the same captivating impetus.

Featuring special guests: Brian Simpson, David Benoit, Philippe Saisse and Marion Meadows!! Grammy Award winning Marc Antoine has been a force of nature on the contemporary jazz scene for over three decades. Revered for his soulful artistry and exotic textures, he burst onto the scene while touring with Basia in the late 80s. Since then he has recorded and toured with such icons as Sting, George Benson, Will Downing and Dave Koz, and his music has been featured in the films Get Shorty, Midnight In The Garden Of Good and Evil, and several others. Highlights of Marc's latest include exotic, Brazilian tinged "Something About Her" featuring Brian Simpson, the dreamy "Summer In Techni color" featuring David Benoit and much more!

En co-production avec le Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles. Enregistré en concert le Samedi 16 octobre 2004 - 18 h 00 à la Chapelle royale à l'occasion des Grandes Journées Marc-Antoine Charpentier du Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (Automne 2004).