Meurtes au Potageur du Roy

IIn his setting of Orlando, Handel offers us a score of remarkable dramatic power, diversity and originality. Orlando s mad scene and slumber aria are among the composer s most striking creations. Everything in the opera arouses admiration the extremely varied scoring, the exuberant vocal writing, the rhythmic invention and the supple melodies. On this new recording from K617, Jean-Claude Malgoire and La Grande Écurie et la Chambre du Roy are joined by a cast of talented soloists in a fantastic production rivaling the best in the catalog.

An album of Mozart overtures, operatic and concert arias, from Die Zauberflote and Le Nozze di Figaro, amongst others. Soprano Karina Gauvin's recordings on ATMA and other labels and other other discs have won numerous prizes, including a Juno, a Felix and several Opus prizes and Grammy nominations. Bernard Labadie founded Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle de Quebec in 1984 and 1985 respectively, and continues to direct their regular seasons in Quebec City and Montreal and on tours worldwide.

André Campra's "Tancrède" is something of a "missing link", connecting the 17th century stage works of Jean-Baptiste Lully and his frustrated rival Marc-Antoine Charpentier with the late baroque works of Jean-Philippe Rameau. "Tancrède" was given its premiere in 1702 and was repeated again and again on the Paris stage. Even in the 1760's, when Rameau's "Les Boréades" had to be abandoned because of the death of the composer, it was Campra's "Tancrède" that the directors of the Paris Opéra chose to put back on stage because of its popularity.

Following a fruitful first collaboration for Mozart’s Piano Concertos Nos. 22 and 24, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Les Violons du Roy and Jonathan Cohen return this time with Piano Concertos Nos. 20 and 23. The works on this recording were composed by Mozart between 1783 and 1786, when the musician was approaching an important personal and professional turning point. First, the Concerto in A major, K. 488, was completed on March 2, 1786, two months before the premiere of The Marriage of Figaro, a work that marks Mozart's return to opera. While Concerto K. 466 is, with Concerto No. 24, the only one by Mozart in the minor mode, that also coincides with the arrival of his son Karl. The performance of the soloist and of the orchestra complement each other marvellously in these two masterpieces whose contrasts respond to each other magnificently.

François-Joseph Gossec’s name is more often found in history books than on record collectors’ shelves. During his long life (1734-1829) he contributed to opera reform in Paris before the arrival and domination of Gluck, was one of the directors of the Concert Spirituel, and wrote 50 symphonies. In old age he became the foremost composer of French revolutionary themes, and the first anniversary of the fall of the Bastille was commemorated with a performance of his Te Deum that featured more than a thousand performers. The Missa pro defunctis initially had more modest origins. Also known as the ‘Messe des Morts’, it was first performed in 1760, and aroused notable reaction due to Gossec’s use of trombones, a novelty at the time.

The Stabat Mater is a musical form born during the growth of the Franciscan Order in thirteenth-century Europe. Scholars have attributed the poem to various members of the Franciscan Order. Depicting the sorrow of Mary as she wept before the crucified Christ, the work represents the darkest hour of the Passion story. Though originally composed for the private use of the Franciscans, the Stabat Mater became an official part of the Roman Catholic liturgy in 1727.

Cellist Cameron Crozman returns with a new recording of Joseph Haydn’s Cello Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 and Jacques Hétu’s Rondo for Cello and String Orchestra, Op. 9. He joins Les Violons du Roy conducted by Nicolas Ellis.