Stephane Grappeli

Written in an extremely personal musical language combining medieval polyphony with Debussy's tone colors, Migot's œuvre is an expression of rigorous, humane, and profound thought. In Le zodiaque, one of the great works for piano of the 20th century, this consummately French composer searches to express the spiritual rather than the merely esoteric.

Having mysteriously disapeared from the current repertory over the past few decades, Gustave Samazeuilh left an attractive body piano works that has drawn the attention of Stéphane Lemelin. A student of Ernest Chausson until that composer's death, Samazeuilh entered the Schola Cantorum in 1900 and studied with Vincent D'Indy and Paul Dukas. Although he always remained faithful to the discipline of craftsmanship he acquired under D'Indy's tutelage, Samazeuilh's style is strongly influenced by Debussy and eschews the academic dryness which often characterizes the work of D'Indy's disciples.

Here, four exceptional Grands Motets composed by Lully to the greatest glory of Louis XIV have been brought together: Plaude Laetare Gallia was performed in 1668 as a jubilant celebration of the birth of his first son, the Grand Dauphin; Benedictus is a piece of extraordinary architecture that transcends the sacred drama; Notus in Judea Deus, composed in 1685 shortly before Lully's death, is a true victory song celebrating the glory of God; finally, Domine Salvum fac Regem, an energetic "God save the King", was systematically sung in honour of the sovereign. The sublime Magnificat by Henry Du Mont, who was in charge of the Music of the King's Chapel until 1683, adds yet more splendour. Stephane Fuget has brought together the best performers, a veritable "army of generals" with a vast choir composed of exceptional singers, to bring these legendary pieces back to life amid the magnificence of Versailles.

As part of the series Musique française : Découvertes 1890-1939, with pianist Stéphane Lemelin, ATMA Classique presents the Piano Quintets by French composers Louis Vierne and Gabriel Pierné. Pierné left 20 or so works of chamber music, including the Quintette en trois parties Op. 41, in E minor, for piano and strings, composed in 1916-17. This piece was dedicated to Gabriel Fauré, and premiered at the Société nationale de musique on February 22, 1919 by the Quatuor Bastide, with Gabriel Pierné on piano. In 1918, devastated and enraged by the death of his son, Louis Vierne wrote to his friend the organist Maurice Blazy: "I'm developing, as an ex-voto [a votive offering], a quintet of very large scale through which will flow abundantly the breath of my tender affection and the tragic fate of my child.

Dukas’ opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, based on Maeterlinck’s symbolist version of the classic tale, sees free spirit Ariane become the sixth wife of the infamous Barbe-bleue, who gives his new bride seven keys to seven doors, but prohibits the use of the last. Ariane discovers an array of glittering jewels behind the first six doors, but a terrifying reality awaits her as she unlocks the seventh. José van Dam is cast as the villainous Barbe-bleue, while taking on the immensely demanding role of Ariane - who does not leave the stage throughout the entire opera - is American soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet.

Violinist Stephane Grappelli will forever be remembered as musical partner to the immortal Django Reinhardt - certainly not a bad thing, except that it conveniently overlooks the nearly half-century's worth of music that Grappelli made without the Gypsy guitar great. When this one-hour performance was recorded in 1989, the elegant, urbane Frenchman was already in his 80s, but he had lost none of his exceptional technique and flair. He's joined here by two exceptional guitarists (Martin Taylor and Marc Fosset) and a bassist; the lineup is much like that of the original Reinhardt-Grappelli Hot Club quintet, and they even play some of that group's standard material ("Honeysuckle Rose," "Daphne"), along with more modern fare like Stevie Wonder's "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" and Chick Corea's "Armando's Rhumba"…