Haller

Monteverdi - Madrigali Guerrieri Ed Amorosi - Concerto Vocale, René Jacobs (2002) {2CD Set Harmonia Mundi HMC 901736.37}
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© 2001 Harmonia Mundi | HMC 901736.37
Classical / Baroque / Vocal Music

Monteverdi was seventy-one when he published his Eighth Book of madrigals. This collection, a monumental work of remarkable beauty, is a synthesis of all Monteverdi's experience in the realm of secular music. It is the culmination of a genre, the Italian madrigal, which here achieves a rare state of perfection. INDISPENSABLE!

Après avoir consacré deux opus discographiques aux motets de Heinrich Schütz, la Chapelle Rhénane aborde ici deux grandes œuvres de l’emblématique compositeur en Allemagne au XVIIe siècle : l’Histoire de la Résurrection et la Messe des Morts. Ces deux oratorios - au même titre que les Symphoniæ Sacræ - fascinent par leur géniale synthèse du nouveau style importé d’Italie avec l’esprit luthérien. Dix chanteurs, six violes et une riche section de basse continue, sous la direction de Benoît Haller, se mettent au service de ces deux chefs-d’œuvre.

This opera concerns Perseus, his love for Andromeda, and his killing of the snake-headed gorgon Medusa. Jean-Baptiste Lully clearly meant the heroic Perseus to stand for Louis XIV, who commissioned the work. Indeed, while Persee is not on stage all the time, he is the central character of this lengthy, ceremonial, beautifully scored work. Those who love the peculiar formalities of French Baroque opera will need no coaxing.

Alessandro Melani, who was born in Pistoia in 1639 and died in Rome in 1703, is a representative of the transition between the styles of Cavalli and Alessandro Scarlatti. As music director of two churches in Rome, Melani produced a large body of sacred music, including 10 oratorios, numerous motets, six masses, three requiems, and more than 100 litanies and other sacred works. He also wrote 10 operatic works, including the first opera on the Don Juan legend. His music, both sacred and secular, is full of appealing melodies. Judging by the works on this disc, his works are well worth getting to know. Melani is not well represented in the current catalog; in fact, this is the only disc devoted entirely to his works.

Drawing on its vast catalogue of Baroque recordings, French label Naïve has assembled a selection of opera and ballet extracts from Lully, Charpentier, Couperin and others that the Sun King would have enjoyed. The disc itself is nicely layered in mood and energy, showing off some of the world's finest period-performance players at their best - including harpsichord master Skip Sempé, the Talens Lyriques and Canada's own soprano Karina Gauvin.

Emmanuelle Haïm has established herself as one of the world’s leading performers, conductors and interpreters of Baroque repertoire, not only with Le Concert d’Astrée, the ensemble she founded in 2000, but with several of the world’s greatest orchestras. Known for her fresh and expressive approach to Baroque music, she has garnered critical acclaim and several international awards with her own ensemble, including Victoires de la Musique Classique, ECHOs, Gramophone Awards, and Grammy nominations.

Long completely forgotten and then hailed, in the twentieth century, as a Baroque genius, Charpentier was born in Paris, in 1643. In the mid-1660s, he traveled to Rome, where he spent three years studying with Carissimi and mastering the Italian style. Upon his return to Paris, Charpentier accepted employment and patronage from the powerful and pious Marie de Lorraine, known as Mademoiselle de Guise, last scion of the illustrious Guise family. In 1627, already known for his religious music, Charpentier agreed to provide incidental music for Molière's comedies. With astounding facility, the church composer wrote witty, charming, and delightful music in perfect consonance with Molière's comedic genius, as exemplified by the extraordinary score for Le Malade imaginaire.