Antoine la Garanderie

The world premiere recording of the complete Pieces de clavecin by Antoine Forqueray, court musician of Louis XN and one of the greatest viola da gamba players of all times. The Pieces de Clavecin comprise five Suites containing 32 pieces in total and were published after the composer's death by his son, the equally famous Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Forqueray in two versions: as viola da gamba solos with continuo and in a transcription for solo harpsichord, the latter being the better-known version.

This first disc from the muso label features the young early music generation in France. Julien Léonard, one of the finest gamba players of his generation, champions these works with brio and elan. He is accompanied by Thomas Dunford on theorbo and François Guerrier on harpsichord. A fantastic first disc for this dynamic trio.

The myth of Orpheus–the divine musician who went to Hades to rescue his bride Eurydice from the dead and whose song actually persuaded Pluto to release her–has been irresistible to operatic composers from Monteverdi to Offenbach. One of the happiest rediscoveries of the Baroque revival is this lovely one-act chamber opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier, which combines the gentle lilt typical of French Baroque music with the beautiful melodies and delicious suspensions in which Charpentier excelled. Charpentier diverged from the myth in one important respect: he omitted the tragic ending in which Orpheus loses Eurydice a second time, instead allowing the couple to live happily ever after.

Until Charpentier, the myth of Orpheus had never provided the subject matter for an opera in French. He repaired the omission with this fascinating little gem on the margins of the large-scale tragédie lyrique. Charpentier offers us here a myth left in suspension, without a resolution, a carefree and happy ‘descent’ that consecrates Orpheus’ song and the enchanting power of music. A poetic experience amid the depths of night, which inspire Sébastien Daucé and his Ensemble Correspondences more than ever!

Cyril Auvity heads the cast in a new recording of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s La Descente d’Orphée aux enfers in a production being released by Glossa. Auvity is the lovelorn Orpheus who ventures, with his lyre, into the Underworld to plead with Pluto (Etienne Bazola) for the return of his Eurydice (Céline Scheen), struck down in her prime by a snakebite, being encouraged in his efforts by Proserpine, the wife of the ruler of Hades (Floriane Hasler).

This first disc from the muso label features the young early music generation in France. Julien Léonard, one of the finest gamba players of his generation, champions these works with brio and elan. He is accompanied by Thomas Dunford on theorbo and François Guerrier on harpsichord. A fantastic first disc for this dynamic trio.

Ce CD fait découvrir trois motets à grand choeur du compositeur méridionnal Antoine-Esprit Blanchard, dont deux en première mondiale. Ces grandes pièces, tout à la fois empreintes de noblesse et de théâtralité, alternant faste des chœurs et intimité des récits, donnent un aperçu fidèle de la musique pratiquée et appréciée à la chapelle de Louis XV, dans la tradition du grand motet français instaurée par Louis XIV.