Dossier 51

With these recordings - which mark the launch of the Stradivari collection - discover the unique instruments lovingly preserved at the Philharmonie de Paris’s Museum of Music: the finest examples of the art of instrument-making which, like the iconic harpsichord crafted in 1652 by Ioannes Couchet, are given a new life thanks to the skill and commitment of its keen conservators. When this ‘national treasure’ is entrusted into the hands of an expert like Christophe Rousset, the magic is evident. As the sumptuous sonority of Louis Couperin’s music is revealed, poetry meets fantasy.

Édouard Lalo - Le Roi d'Ys - French Broadcasting Orchestra, André Cluytens (2018) {Erato-Warner Classics rec 1957, Mono}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 506 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 254 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 2018 Erato / Parlophone / Warner Classics | 0190295734855 | Mono
Classical / Romantic / Opera

Lalo’s Le Roi d’Ys draws on the same Breton myth of a submerged city as Debussy’s La Cathédrale engloutie. A great success at its 1888 premiere at Paris’s Opéra Comique, it even reached the Metropolitan Opera, New York, but its current rarity on the world’s stages makes this classic 1957 recording still more treasurable. The performers’ Gallic credentials are impeccable, even though both Rita Gorr and André Cluytens were natives of Flanders. Like soprano Janine Micheau and tenor Henri Legay, Cluytens enjoyed close links to the Opéra Comique, spending six years as its music director.

Georg Philipp Telemann is one of the composers whose cause Ricercar has always championed with fervour. To commemorate the 250th anniversary of his death, Ricercar now presents a reissue of its vast repertory, which makes up a complete portrait of the output of this inspired contemporary of Johann Sebastian Bach: his sonatas, trios, fantasias, concertos and suites written for all sorts of instruments are accompanied by several sacred compositions, cantatas, and a St Matthew Passion which, like a number of other works in the set, is released on disc for the first time.

Various Artists - On The Detroit Beat! Motor City Soul - UK Style 1963-67 (2019) {Ace CDTOP 1539}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 263 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 153 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 10 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1963-67, 2019 Ace Records | CDTOP 1539
Pop / Rhythm & Blues / Beat

The Motown Sound gets a distinctly 60s UK makeover. It may seem unbelievable in 2019 but there was a time when Motown was not a household name in the UK. Around 40 Motown singles were released here between 1959 and 1964, not one making a dent in our charts until Mary Wells scored a Top 10 hit with ‘My Guy’. After that Berry Gordy’s company began to slowly make a greater impression on British pop fans but even then a full three years went by before Motown’s flagship acts routinely made the UK Top 20.