le Manegement

Figgatta de Blanc is the tenth studio album by Italian rock band Elio e le Storie Tese, published in 2016. The name is a parody of The Police' Reggatta de Blanc.

L'heure est (déjà) au sixième album pour Debout Sur Le Zinc. Baptisé La Fuite en Avant et produit par Jean-Louis Piérot, celui-ci se démarque du rock alternatif francophone comme de la variété et de la chanson hexagonale. La Fuite en Avant, ce sont douze airs où les femmes sont omniprésentes, soit à travers le chant, dans lequel perce une fragilité, et une mélancolie récurrentes qui font considérer cela, ou plus assurément dans les histoires du quotidien qui tue à petit feu l'homme qui se demande qui il est et comment il en est arrivé là.

When the French court moved into the magnificent residence of Versailles on May 6, 1682, France was at the zenith of its power. The king, no longer a young man in his mid-forties by the standards of the time, was increasingly coming under the influence of Madame de Maintenon, who had risen from the position of governess to his illegitimate children to become the Sun King's maitresse and later wife. The pious lady brought the king back into the arms of the church, which was not without influence on the musical entertainment of his majesty. In addition to chamber music, which Louis always appreciated, sacred cantatas in French were now in demand for the court's devotions.

Half Baroque, half contemporary, half French, half British: that is the challenge taken up here by Franck-Emmanuel Comte and Le Concert de L'Hostel Dieu. This recording presents in the same program pieces by Lully and by Purcell, together with contemporary creations by the Frenchman David Chalmin, inspired by Purcell, and by the British composer Martyn Harry, inspired by Lully. Both contemporary composers combine the sounds of Baroque instruments with their own expression, thus removing borders and engaging in a dialogue involving different periods and different languages. Axelle Verner lends her mezzo voice and unique personality to the vocal pieces in this program.

Julien Chauvin and Le Concert de la Loge join Alpha and launch a new cycle devoted to Mozart. This project is a natural continuation of Julien Chauvin’s work of rediscovery focusing on the interpretation of the music of Haydn and his contemporaries in Paris in the late eighteenth century. The first recording assembles the majestic and grandiose Symphony no.41 in C major, known as the Jupiter, the Violin Concerto no.3 in G major and the Overture to Le nozze di Figaro. Julien Chauvin is, of course, the soloist in the violin concerto and, with his Concert de la Loge (which is no longer ‘Olympique’, since the French National Olympic Sports Committee forced the ensemble to amputate its name in 2016, despite the fact that it dates from…1782), they embark on a Mozartian marathon that promises to be electrifying!

‘Well, what a surprise – a divine surprise! I have delighted in immersing myself in the world of Handel for more than forty years now. But I must admit that I experienced yet another lesson in strength and joy when I toured and recorded the Dettingen Te Deum and the Coronation Anthems ’, says Hervé Niquet. As a lover of large orchestral formations, he has assembled a number of instrumentalists and singers close to the (gigantic) forces used at the premiere, with a large band of oboes, bassoons and trumpets, and assigned the solo arias to the entire ‘chapel’. Niquet speaks of ‘the glittering power of this ceremonial music concocted by a Handel conscious of placing the best of his genius at the service of the crown and of history’, and he in turn invests all his enthusiasm and expressiveness in these works combining ‘grace and strength’. Fans of Champions League football will recognise in Zadok the Priest the theme of that competition’s anthem!