Jul on Sent Pas Les Coups

With Les Indes galantes by Jean-Philippe Rameau, György Vashegyi – along with his Orfeo Orchestra and Purcell Choir – makes a further dazzling addition to their Glossa series of French dramatic masterpieces from the Baroque, and in the company of a luxurious line-up of vocal soloists.

The first recording of Rameau's sublime masterwork on CD for more than 20 years: Hugo Reyne and La Simphonie du Marais present this full and original version based on souces in the library of the Paris Opera. Hugo Reyne, Nicolas Sceaux and La Simphonie du Marais have made their own edition of this seminal work, recorded in concert and rehearsal in the Vienna Konzerthaus at the Rexonzanzen Festival in January 2013.

I know of no Rameau work more colourful, more melodious, more replete with inventive vitality, wrote Gramophone in reviewing this 1973 premiere recording of the French Baroque masters 1735 heroic ballet Les Indes galantes. There is immense enthusiasm and spirit in this performance [and] some excellent singing Among the array of sopranos I was specially impressed by the full, bright ring of Rachel Yakar Anne-Marie Rodde: a good stylist and a clean, accurate voice, coping well with Rameaus florid detail The tenor Bruce Brewer is a real find for the lyrical French roles: his voice is very smooth and graceful In all, a set which no Rameau admirer should miss. Conducted by Rameau specialist Jean-Claude Malgoire, it is now being issued for the first time on CD.

While Freemasonry's secrecy has always aroused distrust, its enlightened principles and belief in virtue, liberty, fraternity, and equality have attracted large numbers of intellectuals and artists; one of its most famous adherents was Mozart. However, his opera The Magic Flute was not the first to be inspired by its teachings but was preceded in 1749 by Rameau's Zoroastre. Its initial reception was so cool that Rameau and his librettist, Louis de Cahusac (a prominent Mason) undertook extensive revisions. The new version was produced–by coincidence or fate?–in 1756, the year of Mozart's birth, and became a great success.

Fidèles, son guitariste et son pianiste, à savoir Sébastien Dufour et Louis Bernier, aident la chanteuse québécoise à réaliser son cinquième album en studio, sorti moins d'un an après l'enregistrement public Les Lettres rouges. Entre-temps consacrée par une Victoire de la musique (meilleure artiste féminine en 2003), Lynda Lemay continue d'explorer la veine qui fit son succès, en alternant les ballades acoustiques et les morceaux plus enlevés, qui tous passent, sans crier gare, du sourire aux larmes, en faisant par là même des tranches de vie extrêmement touchantes.

Pour la première fois en près de soixante ans de carrière, Johnny Hallyday confie ses classiques à une quinzaine d’artistes. Réalisé sous la houlette de Yarol Poupaud, son directeur musical et guitariste, cet album ne fait que confirmer l’immense popularité de Johnny. Ce projet fédérateur réunit des artistes de différents horizons s’appropriant les incontournables de la légende française du Rock : Kendji Girac laisse parler sa puissance vocale sur 'L’Envie', Florent Pagny a choisi 'Requiem pour un fou', Louane surprend et séduit avec 'La musique que j’aime', Patrick Bruel rend hommage à 'J’ai oublié de vivre', Benjamin Biolay apporte sa touche personnelle à 'Retiens la nuit', et 'Ma gueule' s’impose comme une évidence pour Garou. Et les dix autres interprètes ne sont pas en reste pour faire vibrer à leur manière le répertoire exceptionnel de Johnny.

Adam de la Halle (c. 1237 - 1288) was one of the first composers to receive the honour of having manuscripts copied comprising his complete works, surely indicative of the esteem in which he was held. De la Halle moved between two worlds as the music of the courts of the nobility was moving out into the aspiring merchant classes of the cities.
His songs of courtly love are characterised by, to use his own phrase, "mal joli", or delightful woe.

Les fêtes de Paphos (The Festivals of Paphos) is an opéra-ballet in three acts (or entrées) by the French composer Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville. The work was described as a ballet héroïque on the title page of the printed score. Each act had a different librettist. Les fêtes de Paphos was first performed at the Académie royale de musique, Paris on 9 May 1758 and was a popular success. Mondonville recycled material from two of his previous operas for the first two acts, namely Erigone (1747) and Vénus et Adonis (1752), both originally composed for Madame de Pompadour's Théâtre des Petits Cabinets. The title of the work is explained in the preface to the printed score. Paphos was a city in Cyprus sacred to Venus, the goddess of love. "Reunited on the island of Paphos, Venus, Bacchus and Cupid decide to enliven their leisure in such a pleasant location by celebrating their first loves, and this gives rise to the following three acts and the title Les fêtes de Paphos."