Premiered in 1784 at the Académie Royale de Musique, where it ensured the institution’s fortune, La Caravane du Caire was one of Grétry’s most famous operas, its popularity continuing into the 19th century. After the recording made under the direction of Marc Minkowski in 1991, Guy Van Waas proposes an energetic new version that enables us to discover a few variants in relation to the previous version. This production, realized by the Palazzetto Bru Zane of Venice, benefits from a fascinating musicological presentation by Alexandre and Benoît Dratwicki. The libretto is typical of the oriental subjects that were so highly prized in the late 18th century. Here, the beautiful Zélime, sold as a slave to a pasha, is rescued from the seraglio thanks to the courage of her beloved Saint-Phar and the loyalty of another Frenchman, Florestan. The work is peppered with comical situations, tender or bravura arias (including a pastiche of Italian-style coloratura) and embellished with numerous ballets, some of which contribute an original note of exoticism.
L'Orchestre Sympathique was a progressive jazz rock quartet founded in 1976 by classicaly trained vibraphonist/percussionist Jean Vanasse, flautist/pianist Francois Richard, and drummer Mathieu Leger. They were joined by various bass players over the years. They released three live albums over their careers including this one recorded live at the La Grande Passe in April of 1979. They never could secure a record deal so there were no studio albums released unfortunately. The band would eventually move to Paris, France and toured Europe extensively from 1981-1985. This album is of particular interest to progressive music lovers, sounding very much like early Maneige.
«Ceci n'est pas un essai sur le Congo. Cinq longs séjours, à l'invitation d'une ONG, ne permettent pas d'écrire sur un pays. Ce n'est pas non plus un récit de voyage. Alors quoi? C'est assurément un livre sur les filles des rues que j'ai rencontrées à Pointe-Noire et Brazzaville, dont j'ai voulu décrire la force et les blessures. Mineures n'ayant pas d'autres ressources que la prostitution, souvent orphelines et déjà mères, elles se métamorphosent dès la nuit tombée pour "faire la vie". Mais peut-être est-ce aussi un livre sur ce monde qui est le leur, avec sa misère et ses mystères, et sur ce qu'il a déplacé en moi…»
The first ever album dedicated to the music of Ernest Shand, including several first recordings.
Set of Fremeaux’s definitive Integrale Django Reinhardt collection. Mastered by Daniel Nevers, there are 20 volumes of these, and each volume has 2 CDs – 40 CDs total. Each volume also comes with a fairly thick booklet with discography and notes. And the booklets and inserts have very nice B&W pictures of Django. Une réédition d’exception ! Depuis quelques années maintenant, les éditions Frémeaux ont entrepris la publication d’une intégrale des enregistrements de Django Reinhardt.