Recueil Des Cours:volume 44 (1933 Ii)

'It would be difficult to find a simpler and more poignant subject', Massenet remarked during the composition of Ariane, a vast score in five acts premiered at the Paris Opera in October 1906. The libretto by Catulle Mendes is part ancient drama, part symbolist poem, and sets Phaedra and Ariadne, two sisters in love with Theseus, in violent conflict with each other. This epic work does not shrink from relating the combat against the Minotaur, from showing a ship tossed by the raging billows, nor even from transporting the audience to the Underworld where Persephone reigns. Despite its flamboyant orchestration, its grandiose scenography and its triumphant premiere, Ariane remains one of the few Massenet operas never recorded until now. The young Egyptian soprano Amina Edris takes the title role with ardour and passion, surrounded by a cast well versed in the specificities of the French style. The Bavarian Radio Chorus provides dedicated support in the epic scenes, under the baton of Laurent Campellone, a great champion of Massenet.

Recueil de phrases pour répliquer aux gens qui enquiquinent, quelles que soient les circonstances.
Le meilleur des reparties pour moucher les emmerdeurs…

Ce recueil rassemble des textes écrits par une cinquantaine d'écrivaines et écrivains américains, sous la direction d'Eve Ensler et Mollie Doyle, pour servir de base à l'organisation d'événements contre les violences faites aux femmes et aux filles. …

For this new recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Jordi Savall conducts an all-female orchestra, as Vivaldi did in his time at the Ospedale della Pieta in Venice. The soloist Alfia Bakieva is a violinist of Tatar origin currently living in Salzburg, Austria. She is a multi-instrumentalist, particularly in the field of folk music, playing violin, folk fiddle, kyl- kobiz, ghizzhak and similar instruments. She studied Baroque violin with Enrico Onofri (Palermo Conservatory) and Hiro Kurosaki (Mozarteum University), focusing on historically informed performance practices in the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic repertoires.

The graphics for this Tallis Scholars release mention scholarly disagreement over the Missa Mater Patris, long attributed to Josquin but "recently shown to be by the little-known Noel Bauldeweyn," writes director Peter Phillips. "Or is it?" he adds. He sketches out the controversy, pointing out that the mass does not resemble any of Josquin's other compositions in the genre; he doesn't answer his question. However, you might take the album as a rejoinder to those questioning the authenticity of the mass. Its possible removal from the Josquin canon rests entirely on this musical evidence, so Phillips is entitled to adduce musical evidence of his own: the genuine Bauldeweyn mass included here sounds nothing like Josquin but is basically a work in 15th century style with a bit of imitative counterpoint thrown in.

Marais's Alcione is the last great 'tragedy' in music from the reign of Louis XIV. It is a total spectacle at the crossroads of the 17th and 18th centuries, from which it takes the mythological source, it's praise of the sovereign's glory and the literary requirement to combine choreography and stage movements. Jordi Savall rediscovered this work and brought it back to life for the first stage production in Paris since 1771.

Jordi Savall & Le Concert des Nations - Le Concert Spirituel: Au temps de Louis XV (2010) {Alia Vox AVSA 9877}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 432 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 181 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 249 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 Alia Vox | AVSA 9877
Classical / Chamber Music / Baroque

Le Concert Spirituel was essentially a Parisian concert series held at the Tuileries Palace, begun in 1725 as an opportunity for musical performances during Lent and other Holy Days when secular musical activities like opera were forbidden. The concerts continued until 1790, just after the beginning of the French Revolution. The music of French composers filled most of the programs, but German and Italian music was occasionally heard, and this CD includes five pieces by Corelli, Telemann, and Rameau that were known to have been played at the concerts. Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations, one of the many stellar ensembles he is responsible for founding, play these works with such surging vibrancy that anyone who thinks of the Baroque as a period of stiff formality would be disabused of that notion on hearing these performances.

Depuis des années, Jacqueline de Romilly essaie de nous faire partager son amour de la langue française. Ce qu’elle veut, c’est nous en donner le goût, en insistant sur les beautés de cette langue plutôt que sur les dangers qui la menacent. À partir d’un mot qu’elle a choisi, elle cherche à en préciser le sens, l’étymologie, ainsi que l’évolution qui, en fonction des changements de la société, des découvertes scientifiques ou des réflexions des écrivains, a chargé ce mot de nuances nouvelles. …

Des intellectuels, des artistes et des écrivains disent ce que représente pour eux la ZAD créée en 2008 sur 1.650 hectares de bocage pour empêcher la construction de l'aéroport de Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Outre la préservation d'un territoire géographique, ce mouvement est pour eux une alternative au système économique actuel, une utopie du vivre-ensemble ou encore une expérience d'autogestion. …