Laura Cahen Toutes Les Filles

Les Filles are all from Illighadad, a secluded commune in central Niger, far off in the scrubland deserts at the edge of the Sahara. The village is only accessible via a grueling drive through the open desert and there is little infrastructure, no electricity or running water. But what the nomadic zone lacks in material wealth it makes up for deep and strong identity and tradition. The surrounding countryside support hundreds of pastoral families, living with and among their herds, as their families have done for centuries.

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.

Marin Marais (1656-1728)est ajourd'hui célèbre grâce au fabuleux corpus de pièces pour violes de gambe qu'il nous a laissé et qui ont été remises à l'honneur avec le célèbre film "Tous les matins du monde" et les disques de Jordi Savall Mais Marais a aussi écrit 4 opéras dont Alcione, le meilleur d'entre eux.
Avant son enregistrement, celui-ci avait la réputation d'être digne des chefs-d'oeuvre de Lully et annonciateur des splendeurs ramistes, mais pour certains figé dans les règles passéistes du grand style français et refusant malencontreusement les harmonies italianisantes chères à Campra et Charpentier.

At the end of the 60s and early 70s Brazil was a dream. It was fashionable everywhere in Europe and therefore in France too. One thinks of "Samba Saravah" from the Un homme et une femme OST, Françoise Hardy and her record produced by Tuca, Isabelle Aubret and her "Casa Forte" or France Gall with "Zozoi". Three Brazilian musicians exiled in France, Edson Lobo (bass), Fernando Martins (piano) and Nelson Serra (drums) form the Trio Camara. They met a group of friends who loved Brazilian music, all professional musicians, but who wanted to remain anonymous, hence the name of the band: Les Masques (The Masks). Claude Germain (Les double six), José Bartel, Marie Vassiliu, Pierre Vassiliu… Indeed the singers forming Les Masques are from being unknown. In 1969 they entered Studio Davout with le Trio Camara to record "Brasilian Sound"…