Piccinni

Donizetti was, of course, a major beneficiary of the postwar revival of Italian bel canto operas of the early 19th century, which put a premium on vocal beauty and display. In the years since Maria Callas took on work like “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Anna Bolena,” Donizetti’s 70 operas became the subject of such keen interest that nowadays there remain no undiscovered gems waiting for their first glimpse of daylight in modern times. Yet the situation can easily seem otherwise when a neglected opera like “Gemma di Vergy,” which opened the festival this year, takes to the stage in a revelation…

A pupil of his uncle Don Angelo Durante, head of the S Onofrio Conservatory in Naples, Francesco Durante established himself as a leading composer of church music, after a period of further study in Rome. He served as primo maestro at the Neapolitan Conservatori Poveri di Gesù Cristo, where his pupils included Pergolesi, later moving to the same position at the S Maria di Loreto Conservatory and finally at S Onofrio. His later pupils included Piccinni.
Durante’s fame as a composer rested on his achievements in the field of church music. His works include Masses, motets, antiphons, canticles, psalms and litanies.

American tenor Rockwell Blake in this pyrotechnical recital conducted by Patrick Fournillier performs hits from the French repertoire by Bizet or Donizetti, and rare pieces by Adam, Auber or Boieldieu. This album includes the often-dismissed aria from Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice “L’espoir renaît en mon âme”. At the time of this recording, Blake was at his prime in the 80s and the 90s one of the most sought-after performers of classical and early Romantic operas being gifted with an incredibly agile voice.

This 20cd box set dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the music of versailles. The box set is beautifully packaged with complete english translations featuring distinguished baroque artists such as les arts florissant's with william christie, les musiciens du louvre with marc minkowski, les talens lyriques with christophe rousset, paul agnew, bernarda fink, veronique gens, patricia petibon and many more.

"Music fit for kings - The Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles – set up by the French Gaovernment to research and perform French music from the years between 1600 and 1800 – have gathered together 20 CDs worth of alluring material, most of it from live recordings made last autumn by Radio France at concerts in various rooms of the Versailles palace…..for anyone who loves French Baroque and Classical music, this box is a cast-iron must have."

Gramophone Magazine, August 2008

"A monumental achievement, this is essential listening - not just for classical fans, but for anyone who cares remotely for French culture."

The Guardian, 8th August 2008