Savall Esgales

Nothing or next to nothing was known about Monsieur de Sainte-Colombe – not even his first name – and the mystery surrounding his person only intensified the mystery of his music: the Concerts à deux violes, which are the only pieces that have come down to us. He was known to violists as the inventor of the seventh string that was added to the bass viol of the Baroque era in France. It was gathered that he had two daughters because he was known to have given concerts with them. And Titon du Tillet had recounted the pleasing story of Marin Marais coming to listen to his master in secret, hidden under the hut in a mulberry tree where the latter “played the viol more peacefully and more delectably”.

Jordi Savall & Wieland Kuijken - Sieur de Sainte-Colombe: Concerts a deux Violes Esgales (2011) {2CD Set Alia Vox AVSA9885}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 585 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 275 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 67 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2011 Alia Vox | AVSA 9885 A+B
Classical / Baroque / Period Instruments / Chamber Music / Viola da gamba

These albums were recorded in 1976 and 1992 (the latter right after the tremendous success of the movie “Tous les Matins du Monde”. Nevertheless, they are astonishingly consistent in their interpretative flair and enable us to discover 10 of the 67 “Concerts” composed by Mr. de Sainte Colombe. Each ‘Concert’ consists in an average of 4 pieces and last around 10 minutes. The most famous is the Concert: ‘Le Tombeau des Regrets’ and especially ‘Les Pleurs’ (The Tears), a masterpiece of emotion in which every note is essential. Jordi Savall plays alongside with Wieland Kuijken, another great name of Baroque music and Viola.

Jordi Savall & Le Concert Des Nations - Les Grandes Eaux Musicales De Versailles (2005) {Alia Vox AV9842}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 428 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 182 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 43 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2005 Alia Vox | AV 9842
Classical / Baroque

Each year the magical setting of the gardens of the Castle of Versailles (one of the most visited sites in France and, indeed, Europe) are the setting for a fairy-tale fountain display. Devised during the reign of Louis XIV, this impressive spectacle set to music reflected the power and the majesty of the King himself. This year, the musical programme has been entrusted to Jordi Savall, who has selected some of the finest treasures from the Alia Vox catalogue. This is a landmark album, a unique selection performed by the leading specialists in the repertoire, those same artists who popularised this music and contributed to the success that it enjoys today.

With this first volume, Les Voix Humaines members Margaret Little and Susie Napper embark on a very ambitious cycle to record all of Sainte Colombe the Elder's 67 "Concerts a deux violes esgales" (concerts for two bass viols). On evidence of the first 18 offered here, the interpretations are consistently quicker and noticeably sunnier compared to the few other recordings of several of these pieces.

The popularity of the film Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) has revived the fortunes of the shadowy composer named Sainte-Colombe, who was active in the late seventeenth century. The film was largely fictitious, but subsequent research, much of it nicely summarized in the notes to this disc, has shed light on who Sainte-Colombe might have been, and has shown that the filmmakers, and the novelist (Pascal Quignard) who wrote the novel on which Tous les matins du monde was based, made some good guesses about him.

The popularity of the film Tous les matins du monde (All the Mornings of the World) has revived the fortunes of a shadowy composer named Sainte-Colombe, who was active in the late seventeenth century. The film was largely fictitious, but subsequent research, much of it nicely summarized in the notes to this disc, has shed light on who Sainte-Colombe might have been and has actually backed up some of the guesses made by filmmakers and by novelist Pascal Quignard, on whose book Tous les matins du monde was based.