Ultra Vomit et le Pouvoir de la Puissance

The London Oboe Band have been around since the early 1980s yet this, remarkably, is their first recording. I dare say that ten years ago an ensemble of these potentially troublesome baroque wind instruments might not have been the happiest sound imaginable, but things have come a long way since then, and there is really no faulting the standard of playing on this disc. Led by one of the best baroque oboists around, the band plays with consistently accurate intonation, good blending and refinement of sound. Every one of their instruments is a modern copy, and if that means that the sheer exotic colouring of some of those wonderful old oboes is missing, the benefits in reliability are obvious right from the first notes.

Pour son 3ème album, le chemin de la maison, Emma Daumas a choisi d'écrire son histoire et de s'impliquer comme jamais. En plus de s'être remise à l'écriture et la composition pour préparer les 12 titres de ce nouvel opus, Emma s'est entourée d'intervenants de qualité : Marcel Kanche (auteur pour Bashung, M, Vanessa Paradis) qui lui a écrit la ballade douce amère "Neverland", Peter Von Poehl (ex-guitariste d'AS Dragon et producteur du dernier Vincent Delerm) pour la composition de "Lipstick et Rimmel" ou encore Mickaël Furnon (leader de Mickey 3D devenu Mick est tout seul) : au-delà de l'écriture, ce fût une vraie rencontre entre les deux artistes.

The overarching themes of this interesting collection of French Baroque concerts royaux and cantatas are war and peace. Composers Montéclair and Clérambault evoke the sounds of war with symphonies of trumpets, fifes and drums, and a mood of peace with the dulcet tones of musettes. Martin Gester and his ensemble Le Parlement de Musique offer colorful and incisive performances of this fascinating repertoire. Both the title work, Montéclair s Le Retour de la paix and Clérambault s cantata L isle de Délos feature the exciting young soprano Dorothée Leclair.

Gossec made an important contribution to the development of French symphonic music and played a central role in Parisian musical life for almost three-quarters of a century. The opera 'Le Triomphe de la République' was composed in 1793 folowing the French Revolution and wonderfully demonstrates the musical movement that France experienced following the change in political climate. Music was recognized as a medium for the diffusion of new ideas and 'Le Triomphe de la République' was a case in point. It was written in the wake of popular enthusiasm at the news of the army's victory at the battle of Vlamy in 1792 against the anti-French troops led by the Duke of Brunswick. It features folk music and popular dances of the day reflecting a kind of life quite distinct from that of intellectual, aristocratic society.