Marie Flore Intimes

On this disc, Jean Guillou teams up with Edo DeWaart and the San Francisco Symphony for a lush performance of Camille Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3, popularly known as the Organ Symphony. This is a lush performance of the Organ Symphony with spot-on tempi, great orchestral balance, and unsurpassed balance between organ and orchestra. This symphony has one long melodic line after another, and DeWaart keeps a long view that prevents any sense of meandering. The organ is stunningly recorded. Brass blaze with glory. Strings are lush. Timpani are extremely well-defined. The clarity of the recording provides an excellent window into finer details. It is difficult to imagine how anything could have been improved upon. The disc is filled out with a strong performance of Widor's Allegro from his Symphony No. 6. This account of the Organ Symphony has everything going for it. There are no obvious weaknesses. If you have excellent subwoofers, they will get the workout of their life. Very Highly Recommended!

In highly informative historical notes Andrew Appel, Director of the Four Nations Ensemble, draws a comparison between Laclos' famed 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses and the elaborate yet incisive music of his contemporary Leclair. This recording brings together leading exponents of period instrument performance to present this elegant and sensuous Rococo music to a new audience.

Les compilations sont souvent l'occasion de découvrir un artiste, et dans bien des cas, rassemblent quelques hits et des chansons mineures qui ne donnent pas envie d'aller au-delà. Le cas ne se pose pas pour Marie-Paule Belle dont le répertoire, phagocyté par le succès de « La Parisienne », gagne à être connu et parcouru d'album en album. Ce Best of permet de retrouver quelques perles des débuts, « Antonio Carlos Maria Brésil » (hommage à la bossa nova), « Quand nous serons amis », « Jersey Guernesey » ou « Je veux pleurer comme Soraya » et « Wolfgang et moi ».

This much-awaited recording, where Canadian singers Marie-Nicole Lemieux and Karina Gauvin perform some of the most beautiful arias composed by Handel showcases outstanding and conniving talent. This project was born from a collaboration with Alan Curtis and his Complesso Barocco, one of the most famous and renowned ensembles in the baroque music field. The 15 arias, performed in solo or in duet, are jewels from 9 oratorios that use material from the Bible and provide a large overview of Handel's genius to depict each emotion, from tenderness to fury.

Originaire d'une famille de musiciens lyonnais, Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764) fut, après avoir abandonné une carrière de danseur, un grand violoniste virtuose en même temps qu'un grand voyageur. De Versailles à Paris, de Londres à La Haye, il prodigua son art en jouant notamment ses Sonates pour violon seul ou ses Concertos. Sa fin fut tragique. Il mourut assassiné alors qu'il regagnait en pleine nuit son domicile."Parfaite synthèse des styles italien et français, son œuvre, précise Thomas Leconte, représente sans doute le véritable apogée des "goûts réunis" chers à François Couperin.

French pianist Claire-Marie Le Guay studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Jacques Rouvier, Pascal Devoyon and Bruno Rigutto. Following her education in Paris, Le Guay continued her studies with a variety of established teachers, including Alicia de Larrocha, Andreas Staier and Leon Fleisher. On Joies de l'âme, she performs an all-Liszt program featuring the Harmonies poétiques et religieuses III S.173, Consolations and Mephisto Waltz No.1 S.514.

This is definitely the best recording of Widor's 5th Symphony on record. There are some highlights that set this recording above the others. There is a point at the end of the first movement in which the music builds up to one of the final displays of the theme (timestamp 7:27 on this recording), and I assure you the crescendo Chorzempa does is the best of any recorded.