la Comuniquation

Thanks to Julien Chauvin and his ensemble La Loge, the programs of the Concert Spirituel’s evenings in the late 18th century Paris come back to life. The so called Haydn’s “symphonies parisiennes” are the core of their musical project which also features contemporary composers, some of them are still unknown.

Ce disque renferme de la musique de circonstance rythmant la vie de la cour de Versailles de Louis XIV à Louis XVI. Les deux compositeurs mis en valeur sont peu connus mais de leur temps étaient les familiers des souverains et les compositeurs des musiques servant à accompagner les chasses, festins, mariages, fêtes, divertissement qui marquaient les temps forts de la vie de Cour.

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre is one of the most remarkable female musical figures in history. Rarely has a woman composer garnered such esteem in her own time, and her success, rather than provoking resentment in the hearts of her contemporaries, inspired the utmost admiration. One has to give credit to the Grand Siècle, a unique period in this regard, for granting Élisabeth the respect she truly deserved. This recording features works seldom heard but nonetheless of exceptional quality, exemplifying two genres in which Jacquet de La Guerre excelled: the French cantata and the suite for harpsichord. In these, we can discover the intrinsic and timeless value of her artistry, regardless of the anecdotal aspects of the historical and social conditions in which they were created.

After their acclaimed recording of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, La Nuova Musica and David Bates expand their PENTATONE discography with Handel’s Unsung Heroes, in which the instrumentalists of Handel’s operas are put centre stage. Traditionally restricted to an “invisible” existence in the orchestra pit, La Nuova Musica’s obbligato instrumentalists – violinist Thomas Gould, oboist Leo Duarte and bassoonist Joe Qiu – are now in the limelight. They will stand as equal partners alongside a world-class line up of soloists – soprano Lucy Crowe, mezzo-soprano Christine Rice and countertenor Iestyn Davies – showing how Handel wrote music as virtuosic and lyrical for his unsung heroes as for their singing counterparts. The album includes arias from Handel masterpieces such as Rinaldo, Giulio Cesare, Agrippina and Ariodante.