The Colonel Aka Mon Colonel (2006) Laurent Herbiet, Olivier Gourmet, Robinson Stévenin, Cécile De France

Congorama (2006)
Xvid 640x352 23.98fps 788Kbps | French MP3 stereo 130Kbps | EN, FR subs .srt | 01:45:19 | 700 MB
Comedy/Drama | Canada/Belgium/France | Director:Philippe Falardeau | Starring: Jean-Pierre Cassel, Olivier Gourmet

Michel, the Belgian son of a paralyzed writer, husband of a Congolese refugee, and father of a future tennis champion, is an erratic inventor misunderstood by his employer. At age 41, he learns that he was born secretly in a barn in Québec, in the town of Sainte-Cécile, and given up for adoption shortly afterward. In the summer of 2000, Michel goes there and finds a sleepy village that soon makes him want to run back home…
Michel (Olivier Gourmet), fils d'écrivain paralysé (Jean-Pierre Cassel), mari d'une Congolaise réfugiée (Claudia Tagbo) et père d'un futur champion de tennis (Arnaud Mouithys), est un inventeur belge erratique incompris de son employeur. À l'âge de 41 ans, il apprend qu'il est adopté et qu'il est né clandestinement dans une grange au Québec, à Sainte-Cécile. À l'été de l'an 2000, Michel se rend à Sainte-Cécile, village banal qui lui donne vite le mal du pays.

Pierre-Laurent Aimard has for decades acted as the foremost contemporary exponent of modern piano music, building a reputation for profound musicality across the works of widely varied composers and even further-ranging techniques. In an immensely satisfying traversal of the genre, this 6 disc set of Debussy, Ravel, Boulez, Berg, Ives, Messiaen, Ligeti, and Carter works is a snapshot of Aimard doing some of the best work of his storied career.

Hector Berlioz, Benvenuto Cellini - Di Donato, Orchestre National de France, Nelson
EAC Rip | APE, CUE, LOG | HQ Covers + Libretto | 3 CD | 900 MB
Classical | Virgin Classics | Catalog Number: 0724354570629 | 2004

This recording presents–almost–Berlioz's original thoughts on this very complicated opera (which went through more than a dozen versions, with additions and subtractions, in the composer's lifetime), although conductor John Nelson also adds an aria or two Berlioz later added, making it somewhat different from the version recorded by Philips under Sir Colin Davis a little over 30 years ago. If I had to choose one of these two superb performances, it would be this: the opera's odd rhythms are more strongly underlined by Nelson, the whole work seems more lively, and the comic moments are genuinely funny. And the singing is superb, with Patrizia Ciofi a simply great, light-toned Teresa, Gregory Kunde tackling the title role and singing as impressively as Gedda did for Davis, and Joyce di Donato singing Ascanio's music as well as you'll ever hear it. The darker-voiced roles are equally well taken, with Laurent Naouri's Balducci particularly vivid. The orchestral playing, choral singing, and ensemble work and sonics are first rate. This is a superb recording, presenting Berlioz's odd masterwork brilliantly.
Robert Levine for amazon.com

Achille-Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He and Maurice Ravel were the most prominent figures associated with Impressionist music, although Debussy disliked the term when applied to his compositions. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1903. He was among the most influential composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and his use of non-traditional scales and chromaticism influenced many composers who followed. Debussy's music is noted for its sensory content and frequent use of nontraditional tonalities. The prominent French literary style of his period was known as Symbolism, and this movement directly inspired Debussy both as a composer and as an active cultural participant.

This 18-CD set offers a comprehensive overview of Messiaen’s work in recordings made between 1963 and 2000 by the Warner labels Erato and Teldec. The performers include the composer himself, his wife the pianist Yvonne Loriod, Pierre Boulez, Marie-Claire Alain and other champions of Messiaen’s work.
As a tantalising and unique bonus, a full CD is devoted to an extensive interview with Messiaen recorded in 1988 in which he speaks, in French, about bird-song, colour, travel, religious faith, opera and the avant-garde. The richly illustrated 149-page booklet includes a full English translation of the interview as well as the composer’s detailed commentary about most of the works included in the set – with booklet editor Fabian Watkinson supplying information about the remaining works.