Rameau: Les Fêtes D'hébé

Reinoud Van Mechelen and his ensemble A Nocte Temporis continue their ‘Haute-Contre Trilogy’ with Rameau’s favourite singer, Pierre de Jéliote, probably the finest haute-contre in history. (Reminder: this is a high tenor voice, not to be confused with the countertenor!) Rameau wrote an enormous amount of music for Jéliote, who was not only a singer but also a guitarist, a cellist and even a composer. The album pays tribute to this native of the Béarn region, who was born in 1713 and died at the ripe old age of eighty-four, with a selection of airs by Rameau (from Hippolyte et Aricie, Les Fêtes d’Hébé, Platée, Castor et Pollux, Les Boréades) but also by Dauvergne, Colin de Blamont, Mondonville, Rebel and Francoeur. Though some are well known, others are much more rarely performed today.

Reinoud Van Mechelen and his ensemble A Nocte Temporis continue their ‘Haute-Contre Trilogy’ with Rameau’s favourite singer, Pierre de Jéliote, probably the finest haute-contre in history. (Reminder: this is a high tenor voice, not to be confused with the countertenor!) Rameau wrote an enormous amount of music for Jéliote, who was not only a singer but also a guitarist, a cellist and even a composer. The album pays tribute to this native of the Béarn region, who was born in 1713 and died at the ripe old age of eighty-four, with a selection of airs by Rameau (from Hippolyte et Aricie, Les Fêtes d’Hébé, Platée, Castor et Pollux, Les Boréades) but also by Dauvergne, Colin de Blamont, Mondonville, Rebel and Francoeur. Though some are well known, others are much more rarely performed today.

The French tenor, Cyrille Dubois, returns to his favourite period in music: Baroque. Pursuing his mission as a trailblazer, he has teamed up with the Hungarian conductor György Vashegyi and the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles to create a recital aimed at reviving little-known treasures of the Eighteenth Century French operatic repertoire - several of the pieces are recorded here for the first time.

This live recording has a frisson about it and Les Musiciens du Louvre create a sound that blends and blooms in the Théâtre de Poissy. Minkowski has chosen music that contrasts well on many…

Sabine Devieilhe, the young French lyric-coloratura soprano, is a singer “whose upper register, like her virtuosity, appears limitless, while her verbal sense and dramatic engagement are breathtaking”. A prizewinner in the 2013 Victoires de la Musique Classique, France’s equivalent of the Grammys, she has recorded a ravishing programme of excerpts from operas by Rameau with conductor Alexis Kossenko and his ensemble Les Ambassadeurs.

Rameau - Le Grand Theatre De L'Amour - Sabine Devieilhe (2013) {Erato-Warner Classics 5099993414920}
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© 2013 Erato / Warner Classics | 5099993414920
Classical / Baroque / Vocal

Sabine Devieilhe, the young French lyric-coloratura soprano, is a singer “whose upper register, like her virtuosity, appears limitless, while her verbal sense and dramatic engagement are breathtaking”. A prizewinner in the 2013 Victoires de la Musique Classique, France’s equivalent of the Grammys, she has recorded a ravishing programme of excerpts from operas by Rameau with conductor Alexis Kossenko and his ensemble Les Ambassadeurs.

Christophe Rousset's collection of overtures to 17 of Rameau's operas and opéra-ballets, played by his original instrument ensemble Les Talens Lyriques, won a 1998 Gramophone award for best Baroque non-vocal CD, and it's easy to hear why this outstanding performance was recognized. The ensemble plays with unflagging liveliness and brilliant, clean tone. The rhythmic vitality Rousset coaxes from his players is toe-tappingly engaging; at the same time, he maintains a fluidity that avoids metronomic rigidity. The tempos he takes sometimes have a breathtaking fleetness that leaves the listener marveling at the players' virtuosity.