Saint Germain Des Res

An emblematic figure of French chanson, Juliette Gréco is an artist who left her mark on the whole of the second half of the 20th century. There is no shortage of superlatives to describe her: égérie of the cabarets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés since the late 1940s, muse to an unspeakable number of artists and intellectuals, fashion icon, ambassador of the French art de vivre.

I conceived this album as a ballad to the Paris I love so much.

The last great tragédie en musique or “musical tragedy” of the reign of Louis XIV, Alcyone (Alcione, as the title appears in the 1706 edition) is an all-round spectacle poised between the 17th and 18th centuries. From the 17th century it takes its mythological source, its prologue in praise of the king, its high literary quality and its vocation for spectacle, combining choreography and changes of scenery.

Juilien Soro, composer, alto, tenor and soprano saxophonist, also keyboardist. With a first prize with distinction at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), he is one of the most talented young musicians of his generation.

L’Adélaïde en question étant l’une des huit filles de Louis XV et de Marie Leszcinska ; née en 1732, elle devint « Madame » à la mort de sa sœur aînée, et s’éteignit en 1800 en Italie – elle aura quand même survécu à la Révolution ! Mais à l’heure de sa grande gloire, elle et ses sœurs furent de grandes consommatrices de musique et nombreux sont les compositeurs qui gravitèrent autour des princesses, et leur dédièrent des œuvres nouvelles.

Twelve years after her previous album, Marie Paule Belle has returned to the studio to record 15 new titles in piano voice. This new opus 'Un soir entre mille' delivers autobiographical, funny or sentimental songs.

His studies (harpsichord) with Huguette Dreyfus at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, then with Bob van Asperen at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague (winning the coveted First Prize in the Seventh Bruges International Harpsichord Competition at the age of twenty-two), followed by the creation of his own ensemble, Les Talens Lyriques, in 1991, have enabled Christophe Rousset to obtain a perfect grasp of the richness and diversity of the Baroque, Classical and pre-Romantic repertoires.

In 1955, Orson Welles directed and hosted a mini series for British television. He leads us through a few famous places of Europe with his inimitable touch. In Paris he introduces us to famous artists such as Juliette Greco or Jean Cocteau who lived in the Saint Germain Des Pres quarter. In London we meet the Chelsea Pensioners, in Spain we attend a Madrid Bullfight and visit the Basque country (Basque Country 1 and 2). Somewhere between a home movie and a cinematic essay, these short films have been described by French critics as the missing link in Welles' work.