Sandrine Laran

"Clair Obscur (Alpha 727), dedicated to German lieder with orchestra, explored the antagonism between light and shadow. Reflet conjures up the nuances and transparencies of French melodies. There is in reflection the idea of an echo, the shadow of a disquieting double, of a plural, diffracted sparkle… A clash of deceptive mirages, a kaleidoscope of senses and flashes of light, it interweaves in strange parallels the score of our lives, adorned with gold and illusions", writes Sandrine Piau.

"Clair Obscur (Alpha 727), dedicated to German lieder with orchestra, explored the antagonism between light and shadow. Reflet conjures up the nuances and transparencies of French melodies. There is in reflection the idea of an echo, the shadow of a disquieting double, of a plural, diffracted sparkle… A clash of deceptive mirages, a kaleidoscope of senses and flashes of light, it interweaves in strange parallels the score of our lives, adorned with gold and illusions", writes Sandrine Piau.

"Clair Obscur" (Alpha 727), das deutschen Liedern mit Orchester gewidmet war, erforschte den Antagonismus zwischen Licht und Schatten. "Reflet" rückt die Nuancen und die Transparenz der französischen Mélodies in den Fokus. In der Reflexion steckt die Idee eines Echos, der Schatten eines beunruhigenden Doppelgängers, eines mehrfachen, verzerrten Funkelns… Der Schock der täuschenden Trugbilder, das Kaleidoskop der Sinne und der Geistesblitze, verwebt in seltsamen Entsprechungen die Partitur unseres Lebens, das mit Gold und Illusionen geschmückt ist", schreibt Sandrine Piau. Berlioz, Gauthier, Britten, Hugo, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Duparc, Koechlin, Ravel, Mallarmé… die Begegnungen zwischen diesen Komponisten und Dichtern "erzeugen in mir ein Feuerwerk von Farben und Spiegelungen", schließt die französische Sopranistin, die hier ihre 14. Aufnahme für Alpha Classics vorlegt.

"Clair Obscur (Alpha 727), dedicated to German lieder with orchestra, explored the antagonism between light and shadow. Reflet conjures up the nuances and transparencies of French melodies. There is in reflection the idea of an echo, the shadow of a disquieting double, of a plural, diffracted sparkle… A clash of deceptive mirages, a kaleidoscope of senses and flashes of light, it interweaves in strange parallels the score of our lives, adorned with gold and illusions", writes Sandrine Piau.

I cannot help feeling that Alessandro Stradella is possibly still one of the major unexplored talents of baroque music. I say this, not because I personally know of piles of forgotten masterpieces by him, but simply because when there is so much of his music that has not been recorded or made available in modern editions, and when what one does get to hear suggests so much talent (the powerful oratorio San Giovanni Battista, for instance), it makes you wonder just what else there might be waiting to be discovered.

Internationally-acclaimed harpist, Sandrine Chatron, playing the beautiful 18th century harp by Sébastien Érard, takes us on a musical journey that recreates the intimate atmosphere of a musical salon at the time of Marie-Antoinette. In this third recording in the Cité de la Musique series, Sandrine Chatron plays the very rare and 18th-century harp by Sébastien Érard. The programme recreates the intimate atmosphere of a musical salon at the time of Queen Marie-Antoinette. It includes works by Gluck, Mozart and Gossec, as well as world premiere recordings of compositions by Dauvergne, Saint-George and Krumpholtz.

'The dreamer! That double of our existence, that chiaroscuro of the thinking being', wrote Gaston Bachelard in 1961. 'The old is dying, the new cannot be born, and in that chiaroscuro, monsters appear', adds Antonio Gramsci. Sandrine Piau has chosen to use these two quotations as an epigraph to her new recording: 'My family and friends know about this obsession that never leaves me completely. The antagonism between light and darkness. The chiaroscuro, the space in between…'

Handel, Scarlatti, Corelli, Stradella, Muffat … From 1650 to the beginning of the eighteenth century, Rome exercised an immense power in attracting composers from all over Europe and experienced an intense moment of musical activity, because of - or in spite of - the papal administration. It was a prosperous period with a melting pot of influences. The programme devised here by the Roman conductor, Rinaldo Alessandrini, offers a complete and personal vision of the time, passionate and secular, lyrical (made sublime by Sandrine Piau) and orchestral, romantic in every way. Rinaldo Alessandrini is one of the leading figures in the international early music scene.