The Basel iv

If The Secret is indeed the title of a melody that Gabriel Fauré composed on a poem rather cutesy Armand Silvestre, it does not seem that it inspired the title of the present album entitled "The Secret Fauré", taken rather in a meaning of scarcity and intimacy. Ivor Bolton, at the head of the Basel Symphony Orchestra where he is the artistic director, offers a very subtle choice composed of extracts from stage or stage music: Caligula, Pénélope, Shylock, Pelléas and Mélisande, mixed with some melodies orchestrated by Fauré or more probably by his friends, like Charles Koechlin. Russian soprano Olga Peretyatko, the new international queen of bel canto, lends her voice to Fauré's discreet art. Forgotten his many Traviata Berlin, MET or Vienna, for the benefit of a song of a modest limpidity. At his side, the tenor Benjamin Bruns and the women's choir Balthasar Neumann complete this disc which dedicates a certain French spirit seen elsewhere, made of a mixture of carefree, discreet elegance and a je-ne- know what futility.

This 2nd album focuses on the iconic Bologna musician musician and adds a great Soprano singer Nulia from Catalonia by illuminating the musical music as well as the voice work of the time. The 3 song voice works have an image of "air" and figuration repeatedly. In other words, the anxiety of a lover who struggle to find peace of mind as if it is moving in the air (Aria Colona), or the story of angels coming from heaven to save people (Perti's Kantha "Vieni pur con i tuoi vezzi") or Aura breathing in the sacred place (Pololo motto Aurae sacra e amati ardores) These Soprano self-chanting works are alongside the collaboration of Jusppe Trelli, born in Venice since 1684, lives in Boronia and has career as composer.

The fifteenth volume of the Haydn2032 cycle is entitled ‘La Reine’. One might think that this nickname refers to Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, queen of numerous territories, but in fact the monarch honoured by the popular title of Symphony no.85 is her daughter, Marie Antoinette. It was said to be the favourite of ‘La Reine de France’, which is the full nickname of the work. The new volume also includes Symphony no.50, which delighted the Empress’s ears when she visited Prince Nicolaus Esterházy at his ‘Hungarian Versailles’ in 1773. Symphony no.62, which dates from 1780, the fortieth anniversary of Maria Theresa’s accession to the throne and also the last year of a life as eventful as it was glorious, rounds off this latest instalment of the complete recording of the symphonies conducted by Giovanni Antonini, here at the helm of the Basel Chamber Orchestra.

For the album "The Secret Fauré", released in 2018, the Basel Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Principal Conductor Ivor Bolton received fantastic reviews: "The music of Fauré … unfolds its attraction only gradually and very subtly, with a gentle, addictive spell can make." (NDR Kultur) In his new album, the orchestra presents a number of other orchestral and concert works by the French composer, Gabriel Fauré.

The Basel Chamber Orchestra , which plays without a fixed conductor, is one of the most sought after ensembles of its kind in Europe. The musicians play Early Music on historic instruments and also perform a wide variety of Baroque works. In addition to their intense interest in the music of the past, the Basel Chamber Orchestra is involved in the world of contemporary music, and they commission new compositions every year.