Dionysos la Naissance de Jack

At the dawn of a new century when André Campra was busy writing his Carnaval de Venise (1699), was the composer aware that he would be passing onto the Académie Royale de Musique a fabulous and legendary work that would remain without successors? And whilst the court of the ageing Louis XIV was endeavouring to conserve the spirit of the Grand Siècle at Versailles, Paris was already humming with the new ideas of the Age of Enlightenment.

Parmi les œuvres emblématiques de Versailles, les Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roi figurent au premier plan. Musiques d’un Palais convoquant un monde de passions, de caractères, d’intrigues, d’échos de batailles… ennobli par le faste des trompettes et des hautbois, elles résonnent jusqu’à nos jours comme les musiques du Plus Grand Roi du Monde. Certes, ce sont des « Musiques de Table » comme on en trouve ailleurs en Europe (le Banchetto Musicale de Schein en 1617, la Tafelmusik de Telemann en 1733), mais quel Prince peut aligner pour ce faire les 24 Violons du Roi, et les vents de sa royale Ecurie ? Avec le luxe d’un orchestre d’Opéra, voici Louis XIV mangeant en public chaque jour, un moment essentiel de la journée.

Fernando Lopes-Graça was one of the greatest Portuguese composers of the 20th century. He composed songs in many genres, including folk-song arrangements, modernist settings of Portuguese poetry, and songs connected to political and historical events, all of which are represented here in this second volume (Volume 1 is on 8.579039). Early songs reveal the harmonic influence of Debussy, while Lopes-Graça’s utopian vision of international fraternity can be heard in his harmonisations of Greek, Czech and Slovak songs, which range from lament and defiance to pastoral sentiment.

La Passion de Simone is an oratorio for solo soprano, choir, orchestra, and electronics by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Originally premiered in a stage version directed by Peter Sellars, this oratorio about the life and work of French philosopher Simone Weil, has been developed in a new version for live video by Jean-Baptiste Barriere. This new version premiered at the occasion of the 60th birthday celebration of Kaija Saariaho, offered to her as a surprise gift in Helsinki’s Musikkitalo earlier this month.

Les Witches - Konge af Danmark - l'Europe musicale à la cour de Christian IV (2010) {Alpha 163}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 358 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 159 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 128 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2010 Alpha / Outhere | Alpha 163
Classical / Renaissance / Baroque / Chamber Music

As an enlightened king during the first half of the 17th century, Christian IV gave Denmark an unprecedented splendour. Added to diplomatic and military ambitions was a rich artistic life, especially in music. The Copenhagen court was rich with singers and instrumentalists, and therefore became an important place of passage for the European composers. In order to discover this astonishing activity and the unfairly neglected composers, the Witches invite us to listen to their recording. Not only for the sentimental memories, but also for the sheer pleasure of combining instrumentation of the Witches plus the unique tone of the Compenius organ, installed in the chapel of the Frederiksborg Castle by Christian IV in 1617.

Welcome to "Alchemy of Happiness", music for the Museum of Alchemy of Córdoba. You enter a sound space that invites meditation and work. Alchemy, the ancient art of transmuting matter, is also an art of spiritual transformation. The alchemist goes through the same phases as the raw material on which he operates.

Antonio Florio et son équipe de la Cappella de'Turchini nous ont habitués à de passionnantes découvertes dans le répertoire de leur ville de Naples, au passé musical si riche et pourtant délaissé par la plupart des musiciens.