Shifra Jacquet Svironi

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre is one of the most remarkable female musical figures in history. Rarely has a woman composer garnered such esteem in her own time, and her success, rather than provoking resentment in the hearts of her contemporaries, inspired the utmost admiration. One has to give credit to the Grand Siècle, a unique period in this regard, for granting Élisabeth the respect she truly deserved. This recording features works seldom heard but nonetheless of exceptional quality, exemplifying two genres in which Jacquet de La Guerre excelled: the French cantata and the suite for harpsichord. In these, we can discover the intrinsic and timeless value of her artistry, regardless of the anecdotal aspects of the historical and social conditions in which they were created.

Illinois Jacquet and His Orchestra is an album by American jazz saxophonist Illinois Jacquet recorded in 1955 and originally released on the Clef label.
One of the great tenors, Illinois Jacquet's 1942 "Flying Home" solo is considered the first R&B sax solo, and spawned a full generation of younger tenors (including Joe Houston and Big Jay McNeely) who built their careers from his style, and practically from that one song.

1694: the first French opera composed by a woman is premiered at the Academie royale de musique. The fateful destiny of the Greek lovers, driven to blindness and horror by the gods: Cephalus will kill Procris, whom he believes to be unfaithful, and himself… A virtuoso harpsichordist much appreciated by Louis XIV, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre chose to become a composer at a time when such freedom was virtually unheard of for a woman. Her gamble paid off, with six performances and the admiration of posterity: this flamboyant work has finally been brought back to the public by Reinoud van Mechelen.

1694: the first French opera composed by a woman is premiered at the Academie royale de musique. The fateful destiny of the Greek lovers, driven to blindness and horror by the gods: Cephalus will kill Procris, whom he believes to be unfaithful, and himself… A virtuoso harpsichordist much appreciated by Louis XIV, Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre chose to become a composer at a time when such freedom was virtually unheard of for a woman. Her gamble paid off, with six performances and the admiration of posterity: this flamboyant work has finally been brought back to the public by Reinoud van Mechelen.

Even in 1968 when the jazz avant-garde was becoming quite influential, tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet played in his own timeless style, performing in an idiom little changed during the previous 20 years. With the assistance of pianist Barry Harris, bassist Ben Tucker, and drummer Alan Dawson, Jacquet is heard throughout this CD reissue (which adds a previously unissued "Don't Blame Me" to the original program) swinging hard and generally expressing himself in a typically extroverted fashion. "Bottoms Up" (a relative of "Flying Home"), "Jivin' with Jack the Bellboy," and Jacquet's excellent original ballad "You Left Me All Alone" are most memorable.

This single CD reissues all of the music from a former LP and a ten-inch LP. Of greatest interest are two fairly long selections (the blues "I Wrote This for the Kid" and a stomping "The Kid and the Brute") that match Illinois Jacquet with fellow tenor great Ben Webster. Since they have equally passionate and distinctive sounds, their "battle" is a draw. Otherwise, this 1998 CD finds Jacquet with his band of the mid-1950s, featuring short solos and fine support from trumpeter Russell Jacquet, trombonist Matthew Gee and either Leo Parker or Cecil Payne on baritone. Jacquet is at his best on the uptempo numbers, such as "Jacquet Jumps" and two versions of "On Your Toes," where he gets to honk in strategic places. An excellent example of Illinois Jacquet's hard-swinging and accessible music.

This release was originally part of a two-disc album of vocal and instrumental pieces by Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre issued in 1986. The music by this gifted contemporary of François Couperin is enjoying a renaissance, and justifiably, for it is inventive and affecting. Sopranos Isabelle Poulenard and Sophie Boulin are fluent in the somewhat rarefied idiom of the 'cantate française' and the result is delicately pleasing. Four of the cantatas on the disc are taken from Jacquet's first collection of Cantates françaises sur des sujets tirés de l'écriture, published in 1708, and dedicated to Louis XIV. The fifth work, Jephté, comes from a second collection issued in 1711 and is distinct from the other cantatas on the disc in being written for two voices rather than one.