L'heure Des Elfes

Journeyman vocalist Michael Des Barres had a life-changing experience when asked to fill-in for Robert Palmer on the Power Station's tour in 1985. Des Barres – a gifted performer and rock veteran – was finally seeing the fruits of his labors turn into success. It's obvious in the grooves that he was enthusiastic about his present and future when cutting his second solo album, Somebody Up There Likes Me. A crack session group (featuring Andy Taylor, Steve Jones, Jim Keltner, and the Tower of Power horns) was assembled, and the LP was produced to sound like a Rod Stewart platter from the era. In fact, Des Barres – who has a similar, ragged tone – sounds more like Stewart here than on previous releases (emulating some of his vocal mannerisms, and even going so far as to include two members of Stewart's backing band). The man seemed keenly aware that this was the moment, turning in a strong mix of rockers and ballads. The elements were in place for a hit.

As early as 1761, a year before his masterpiece Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck largely renewed another musical genre, the ballet, with his adaptation of a work by Molière for Viennese audiences: Don Juan. Another work, Sémiramis, followed a year later. These two works are innovative in that they offer, for the first time, a coherent narrative in which all the resources of the orchestra are put at the service of expressiveness. Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations bring out all the nuances of these scores, reminding us that a quarter of a century before Mozart, the stages of Europe were treated to all the evocative power of music by another outstanding figure: Christoph Willibald Gluck.

This DVD presents three of Mozart's best-loved sacred works, filmed in the magnificent Baroque Basilica of Waldsassen, Bavaria. "It is the time and the place for Mozart, that he may strengthen us, bless us, and help us finally to archieve peace of earth", declared Leonard Bernstein, introducing this concert in 1990 - the year of his death. Featuring superb soloists, his inspirational performance of the great C minor Mass found widespread critical acclaim.

Jeanne-Antoinette Le Normant d'Étiolles a vingt-quatre ans lorsqu'elle fut présentée au roi Louis XV lors d'un bal masqué. Sa beauté, sa jeunesse et son esprit subjuguent le monarque qui ne tarde pas à en faire sa favorite. La marquise de Pompadour brûle d'une passion sans faille qui se transformera progressivement en amour platonique puis en amitié indéfectible. Elle n' a que faire des ragots, des pamphlets et du clergé qui lui mènent la vie dure. Elle préfère se consacrer aux arts dont elle se fait la protectrice zélée, au point de devenir la figure incontournable du Siècle des Lumières. …