Louis Chedid le Bonheur Fait ma Joie

The latest in Hervé Niquet's 'reinvigorations' of French operatic music from the Baroque and beyond for Glossa is Rameau’s 1747 'Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour'. A ballet heroïque in a prologue and three entrées, the whole work was designed to comprise a complete theatrical spectacle. Music for dancing – as befits a ballet – is given a prominent role and Rameau is able to create especially expressive symphonies and to give the choruses – even a double-chorus – an integral role in the action. Added to this are supernatural effects, and plots for the entrées which explored the then uncommon world of Egyptian mythology (including a musical depiction of the flooding of the River Nile).

Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) - Le Remède de Fortune - Ensemble Guillaume de Machaut de Paris (1977) {Ades 14.077-2}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 367 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 146 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 21 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1977, 1985 Adès | 14.077-2
Classical / Medieval / Early Music

Medieval music is not my customary listening or studying turf, and I can't claim any cognoscento's insight. I'm a pure layman here, I don't know how "authentic" or musicologically satisfying those 1977 readings by Ensemble Guillaume de Machaut are, or how they compare interpretively with others. As for authenticity, other than giving the names of the instruments used, the credits and liner notes provide no information whatsoever about them. For instance, the instrument called "cromorne" is listed, but according to Wikipedia the cromorne was a 16th and 17th century instrument of the oboe family, which makes it two or three centuries too late for Machaut.

Omdat zijn vader hem verbiedt naar het conservatorium te gaan, gaat Léo Ferré (1916-1993) maar rechten studeren in Parijs. Tijdens de oorlog keert hij als vluchteling terug naar zijn geboorteland Monaco. Hier gaat hij werken voor de radio en componeert hij zijn eerste liederen. Na de bevrijding duikt Ferré op in de cabaretwereld van Parijs. In de jaren vijftig en zestig neemt hij een serie albums op gewijd aan beroemde Franse dichters.

Henri Salvador has the patina of a truly seasoned musician. His soft earthy voice shimmers like silky drops in the tropical sun. His placid sensual vocals put the listener at ease from the downbeat. In this finely crafted work, he continues in the same pleasurable vein, a mélange of jazz, tropical, and pop threads. He moves seamlessly from one style to another, as if he has done so for centuries.

Saint-Saëns's first opera, Le Timbre d'argent initially composed in 1864 need not fear comparison with some of the most celebrated works in the nineteenth-century French repertory. It depicts the nightmare of a man whose hallucinations anticipate by twenty years the fantastical apparitions of Offenbach's Les Contes d Hoffmann.

French music always sounded different from english or american pop music. Not only because of the language, but also because of it’s very unique sound. Blank & Jones have been travelling to france since the 1980s and always brought home some musical souvenirs. It started with names like Mylene Farmer, Niagara, Etienne Daho or Vanessa Paradis, later artists like Benjamin Biolay or Keren Ann followed. After their Paris trip in spring 2013, where they shot the music video for “Days Go By” with Coralie Clement, they decided to present these new Pop Sensations from France on Bonheur & Mélancolie. This exclusive collection brings you stars like Benjamin Biolay or Sébastien Tellier but also presents new talents like Éléphant, Rose, Berry, Loane or Vincent Delerm…

In a stunning world premiere recording, music director and conductor Nicholas McGegan, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra & Chorale, and an international cast of French Baroque opera stars present Jean-Philippe Rameau’s original 1745 version of Le Temple de la Gloire, with libretto by Voltaire. Presented as a fully staged opera in April 2017, the three sold out performances enjoyed universal critical acclaim from some of the world’s leading publications. The original manuscript had not been performed since 1745 and is housed at U.C. Berkeley’s Jean Gray Hargrove Music Library. Originally written to honour King Louis XV and commemorate the Battle of Fontenoy, the version of this ballet héroïque that has been heard up until now is the second version which was substantially changed by Rameau to appease the King and Parisian tastes.