Chauvin

The well-known Concert de la Loge, the period instruments orchestra led by the violinist Julien Chauvin, return with the third episode of Haydn’s journey in Paris. His complete Parisian Symphonies recording continues this Autumn with the number 82 nicknamed ‘The Bear’. It is coupled with the Symphonie concertante for bassoon, horn, flute and oboe of one of his contemporaries, François Devienne. This colourful third volume draws a witty and virtuoso panorama of French 18th century music.

Sandrine Piau and Véronique Gens have a longstanding rapport and dreamed of making a recording together. Here they pay tribute to two singers who, like them, were born within a year of each other, Mme Dugazon (1755-1821) and Mme Saint-Huberty (1756-1812): both enjoyed triumphant careers in Paris, inspiring numerous librettists and composers. Gluck even nicknamed Saint-Huberty ‘Madamela- Ressource’, while ‘a Dugazon’ became a generic name for the roles of naïve girls in love, and later of comical mothers. Rivals? They very likely were, given the quarrelsome spirit of the operatic world of the time, even if they never crossed paths on stage.

Sandrine Piau and Véronique Gens have a longstanding rapport and dreamed of making a recording together. Here they pay tribute to two singers who, like them, were born within a year of each other, Mme Dugazon (1755-1821) and Mme Saint-Huberty (1756-1812): both enjoyed triumphant careers in Paris, inspiring numerous librettists and composers. Gluck even nicknamed Saint-Huberty ‘Madamela- Ressource’, while ‘a Dugazon’ became a generic name for the roles of naïve girls in love, and later of comical mothers. Rivals? They very likely were, given the quarrelsome spirit of the operatic world of the time, even if they never crossed paths on stage.

Most of Haydn's concertos are early works, written in the years immediately before or after his engagement at the Esterhazy court in 1761. During that time, he composed four violin concertos, of which three-all except Hob.VIIa, No.2 in D major - survive, none of them in autograph form. Hob.VIIa No.3, in A major turned up only in 1949.

More than 300 years after Antonio Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons , the most famous work in the history of music is still as lively and invigorating as ever. Now Le Concert de la Loge has recorded this Baroque treasure with its founder and director, the violinist Julien Chauvin, as soloist. For the occasion, the Château de Versailles has loaned him an exceptional instrument: a Neapolitan violin by Nicola Gagliano, adorned with fleur-de-lys and inlaid decorations. This instrument, which was played by Yehudi Menuhin in the 1970s, comes from the ‘collection de Madame Adélaïde’, named after one of Louis XV’s daughters. It has not left the Château for almost a century and is in a perfect state of preservation. The main work is complemented by Vivaldi’s no less celebrated ‘La Follia’ and an aria that is now famous in its own right, ‘Sovvente il sole’ from Andromeda liberata , the score of which was discovered in Venice in 2002. It is performed here by the countertenor Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian.

With Forgotten Arias countertenor Philippe Jaroussky pays tribute to composers of the late Baroque era and to the great librettist of the age, Pietro Metasasio. All ten arias on the album, written between 1748 and 1770 by nine composers, are heard in world premiere recordings. Metasasio’s librettos were set by multiple composers – Vivaldi, Handel, Gluck and Mozart among them – resulting in hundreds of operas. The more familiar names on the multi-faceted programme of Forgotten Arias are Gluck, Johann Christian Bach, Jommelli, Hasse and Piccinni. Less well-known are Bernasconi, Ferrandini, Traetta and Valentini. Jaroussky’s partners on the album are the conductor Julien Chauvin and his orchestra Le Concert de la Loge. All in all, Forgotten Arias looks set to be highly memorable.