Deshayes

For his first album as an exclusive Erato artist, the French clarinettist Pierre Génisson focuses on his instrument’s most inspired 18th century advocate: Mozart. The centrepiece of his programme is the composer’s sublime clarinet concerto. “The spiritual and symbolic scope of this concerto is immense,” says Génisson. “Every time I come back to this masterwork, I experience the same thrill as when I discover a piece for the first time… Mozart and the clarinet – what a special combination!”

It was around 1825 that Louise Bertin, pupil of Reicha and friend of Berlioz, tackled the subject of Faust with all the energy and confidence of a young woman of twenty. She entirely exceeded the public's expectations and won over the critics with her daring. Colourful orchestration, charming cantabiles, vigorous choruses - everything seemed to promise the work would enter the repertory. But the closure of the Theatre-Italien after just three performances in 1831 decided otherwise, and the score languished in the vaults of the Bibliotheque Nationale de France for 190 years.

What a wonderful contrast! Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Bach’s Magnificat represent the two oft-compared composers at Dixit . He had already written two Italian operas, and his career path clearly pointed in that direction. The Dixit is as extravagant as Bach’s Magnificat is controlled. The two pieces are such a good fit that one wonders why they haven’t turned up together more frequently, if, in fact, they have at all.