Marie Flore Intimes

These Stabat maters represent a deep-rooted exploration of the solemnity of the sacred and the operatic aspect of musical writing, both in the sombre and plaintive tonality of F minor. Comparing these masterpieces, that of Antonio Vivaldi (1712) and that of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1736), allowing them to resonate in the acoustics of the Royal Chapel of the Château de Versailles, just as they could have been heard in the 18th century, inspires and awakens a desire for balance between internalised faith – spirituality, and externalised faith – splendour. Pergolesi's work was very popular in France. Given on the occasion of the feast of the Virgin, the Stabat mater dolorosa is based on a 13th century liturgical text by Jacopone da Todi, reintroduced by Pope Benedict XIII in 1727.

Michael Nyman's 8 Lust Songs comes with a Parental Advisory warning for explicit content, but the songs are in Italian, so only a small number of Italian speakers in the English-speaking world will have the opportunity to be offended (unless, of course, you read the translations in the booklet). Nyman describes the settings of these explicit sixteenth century poems by Pietro Aretino – essentially bedroom dialogues between lovers – as a natural progression in his work, which, since his days as a student, has frequently been concerned with sex.

When the very young Marie-Claire Alain recorded for Erato for the second time, in late winter of 1955, she did not necessarily suspect that she was participating in a long discographic odyssey. The organist would become one of the emblematic personalities of the Erato catalogue, working with the French firm up until the early 1990s. On 27 February 1955, in the church of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, she began a series of recordings devoted to French composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She initiallly elaborated a brief programme of famous toccatas: Gigout, Widor and Boëllmann. Brisk tempos, nimble articulations, a wide variety of colours: Marie-Claire Alain charmed with her vivacious spirit – the famous piece by Widor (finale of the Fifth Symphony) is of noteworthy elegance. These youthful accounts already reveal all of Marie-Claire Alain’s affinities with this repertoire with which she has not always been associated and of which, in truth, she promotes a fleet, airy, supple vision. However, it was a few weeks later, around 13 March 1955, that Erato offered the young French organist, fully concentrated at the time on Buxtehude’s music, her greatest joy: she could defend ‘in studio’ the works of her elder brother, Jehan Alain. It is a veritable godsend to rediscover these youthful documents, keen and always pertinent, by Marie-Claire Alain, recorded in the church of Saint-Merri a little more than a year after her very first recording for Erato devoted to J. S. Bach.

Handel wrote little for his native tongue, but what he did demonstrates a particular level of contemplative piety while still employing the familiar techniques of Italian opera.
Praise for the beauty of nature and eternal life are the subjects of the sacred poems by his contemporary Barthold Heinrich Brockes which Handel set to music in his 'Nine German Arias'. Each aria celebrates an aspect of nature, from the beauty of a flaming rose to the sweetness of silence, with extraordinary tenderness and sincerity.

Anne-Marie’s second studio album, ‘Therapy’, is the official follow-up to her multi-platinum and four million-selling 2018 debut, ‘Speak Your Mind’ [the UK’s biggest-selling debut release of that year]. An artist whose everywoman candour and knock-you-down vocal range has reverberated across the globe, ‘Therapy’ is a collection of songs that embody Anne-Marie’s characterful artistry, self-effacing attitude and beautiful honesty; attributes that have not only catapulted Essex-born Anne-Marie to platinum status in the UK to the USA and everywhere in-between, but ones that have seen her reign supreme a fearless Gen Z role model. It features guest appearances by KSI, Digital Farm Animals, Little Mix, Niall Horan, Nathan Dawe, MoStack, and Rudimental. The album was supported by four singles: "Don't Play", "Way Too Long", "Our Song", and "Kiss My (Uh-Oh)", while "Beautiful" was released as the sole promotional single off the album on 12 July 2021. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was also a commercial success.

Named after the 18th-century dance-style movement 'Badinerie', this beautiful new album from flautist Julien Beaudiment and harpist Marie Pierre Langlamet offers a diverse span of repertoire, with a rich collection of works from across the centuries. At the heart of the album lies Francis Poulenc's Sonata FP 164, with it's three emotive movements, each painting a vivid musical picture. The wistful Allegro malinconico and the playful Presto giocoso show Poulenc's stylistic intricacies, while Mozart's soul-stirring Adagio from K 285 transports listeners to a realm of serene beauty. Johann Sebastian Bach's iconic Badinerie infuses the collection with Baroque charm.

Named after the 18th-century dance-style movement 'Badinerie', this beautiful new album from flautist Julien Beaudiment and harpist Marie Pierre Langlamet offers a diverse span of repertoire, with a rich collection of works from across the centuries. At the heart of the album lies Francis Poulenc's Sonata FP 164, with it's three emotive movements, each painting a vivid musical picture. The wistful Allegro malinconico and the playful Presto giocoso show Poulenc's stylistic intricacies, while Mozart's soul-stirring Adagio from K 285 transports listeners to a realm of serene beauty. Johann Sebastian Bach's iconic Badinerie infuses the collection with Baroque charm.

Charles-Marie Widor was born in Lyon to a family of organ builders and consequently became an organist of great skill and an assistant to Camille Saint-Saëns at La Madeleine in Paris at the age of twenty-four.