Ariane et Bacchus

It is only recently that the cantata Ariane consolated by Bacchus was attributed to Couperin, on the strength of many technical details too complex to be unrolled, but perfectly convincing. It is therefore a kind of first world discography of a work of this great composer that Christophe Rousset gives us, with the superb voice of Stéphane Degout whose impeccable speech allows to understand absolutely every word. There follow two immense apotheoses of the same, that of Corelli dated 1724 and that of Lully of the following year. These are very ample instrumental suites in the style of, with quotations, allusions, jokes of all kinds, in a quasi-theatrical and very descriptive writing approaching a kind of programmed music.

The Italian-born violinist and dancer Jean-Baptiste Lully revolutionised music at the French court in the 17th century (see The Lully Effect, NX 3867). not only did he transform ballet entertainments into a spectacular new genre, the tragédie lyrique, but he set new standards in orchestral playing—with him the ‘modern’ orchestra was born. The Suite from Roland exemplifies the majesty of his ouvertures, the beauty of his dance movements and the expressive depth of his chaconnes. Both Georg Muffat and Marin Marais were profoundly influenced by Lully, as their inventive suites show, and Muffat’s own preserved performance instructions have been closely followed on this recording.

The Historical Orchestra , a team directed by Martyna Pastusza specializing in historical performance, invites you to the world of French baroque music. In this era, political and artistic life on the Seine was focused on the stunningly lavish Versailles court of Louis XIV. The Sun King gathered around himself a great array of musicians who were extremely important to him- he danced in ballet shows himself- and the performances were not only a popular entertainment, but also a dramatized allegory of government. Of the composers presented on the album, only Michele Corrette was not associated with the royal court. Apart from him, the recording includes compositions of such celebrities as Jean Baptiste Lully, violin virtuoso and dancer, unparalleled gambist Marain Marais and famous organist François Couperin.

Much of the richly diverse oeuvre of Albert Roussel (1869-1937) grew from his far-flung travels as a young navy officer. One of the major French composers of his time, he produced music that embraces the exotic colours of so-called Impressionism, the rigour of his training at Vincent d’Indy’s Schola Cantorum, and the questing spirit of Modernism. Containing a number of CD premieres, this wide-ranging edition features such performers as Jean Martinon, Charles Munch and Claire Croiza – all colleagues of the composer, who makes appearances as both conductor and pianist – André Cluytens, Michel Plasson and José van Dam.

2016 marks the 40th anniversary of Jean Martinon’s death. This 14-CD collection focuses on Martinon’s activity with the Orchestre National de l’O.R.T.F between 1968 and 1975 and on repertoire – much of it French – that complements the works by Debussy and Ravel that feature on Martinon’s best-known recordings. The box brings together recordings he made for both EMI and Erato and also includes the first commercial releases of live recordings kept at France’s Institut national de l'audiovisuel (INA) and dating from 1970 (Roussel’s Symphony No 3), 1971 (Bartók’s Miraculous Mandarin) and 1972 (Falla’s complete Three-Cornered Hat).