Tempete Azahar

After The Tempest (Alpha 208), its first recording on a Shakespearian theme, which was much admired(Diapason d Or etc.), La Tempête presents Azahar (orange blossom in Spanish), which contrasts and interweaves the polyphony of Machaut with the poetry of the Spanish cantigas and the century of Stravinsky and Ohana. Simon-Pierre Bestion, founder of the company La Tempête, tells us: I like the idea of disorientating the listener between different historical periods. Stravinsky wrote his Mass after discovering Machaut's setting,while Ohana s Cantigas de Santa Maria allude to those of Alfonso the Wise and to folksong . . .

In 1623, when the Thirty Years War was raging, Europe was torn apart by the confrontation between Protestant and Catholic peoples. Schütz and Schein, close friends with a deep-rooted Lutheran faith, were thoroughly in accordance with the spirit of their time when they wrote these works imbued with frugality, humility, even austerity. Yet these two great minds were still driven by a burning passion, paradoxically very attached to Italianate style, which is very evident here.

In 1623, when the Thirty Years War was raging, Europe was torn apart by the confrontation between Protestant and Catholic peoples. Schütz and Schein, close friends with a deep-rooted Lutheran faith, were thoroughly in accordance with the spirit of their time when they wrote these works imbued with frugality, humility, even austerity. Yet these two great minds were still driven by a burning passion, paradoxically very attached to Italianate style, which is very evident here.