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Sémélé tragédie lyrique de Marin Marais
Glossa | 9 novembre 2007 | Classical | APE+CUE | 3% Recovery | 2CDs | 368+296 MB | Covers | 75'59"+61'27"

For this recording directing Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet has revived Sémélé by Marin Marais - the final opera by one of the leading composers from the reign of Louis XIV. Known for his compositions for viola da gamba, Marais was also the author of a number of tragédies lyriques which he wrote for the Académie royale de Musique.
However, only Alcyone has attracted any attention. Sémélé, first performed in 1709, has music to charm and seduce: a sparkling prologue honouring Bacchus, a set of arias with freshly-minted appeal, a marvellously inventive diabolical scene; all leading up to an earthquake scene that anticipates the later work of Rameau. For all lovers of baroque music, here is the opportunity to discover and enjoy a masterpiece which has lain in the shadows for the last three centuries.

For his latest recording directing Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet has revived Sémélé by Marin Marais – the final opera by one of the leading composers from the reign of Louis XIV. Known above all for his compositions for the viola da gamba, Marais the composer was at the same time the author of a number of tragédies lyriques which he wrote for the Académie royale de Musique. Even to this day it has only been Alcyone which has attracted the attention of music lovers and musicians. Yet Sémélé – first performed in 1709 – arrives now full of music to charm and seduce the listener: a sparkling prologue honouring Bacchus, a set of arias with a freshly-minted appeal, a marvellously inventive diabolical scene, divertissements rich in character; all this leading up to an earthquake scene memorably anticipating the later work of Rameau.

Hippolyte et Aricie was Rameau's first surviving lyric tragedy and is perhaps his most durable, though you wouldn't know it from the decades we had to wait for a modern recording. Now there are two: this one, conducted by Marc Minkowski, and William Christie's version on Erato. Choosing between the two is tough. Minkowski uses a smaller and probably more authentic orchestra, and with the resulting leaner sound, the performance has more of a quicksilver quality accentuated by Minkowski's penchant for swift tempos. His cast is excellent. The central lovers in the title are beautifully sung by two truly French voices, soprano Véronique Gens and especially the light, slightly nasal tenor of Jean-Paul Fourchécourt. In the pivotal role of the jealous Phèdre, Bernarda Fink is perfectly good but not in the exalted league of Christie's Lorraine Hunt. So there's no clear front-runner, but anyone interested in French Baroque opera must have at least one.

Hippolyte et Aricie was Rameau's first surviving lyric tragedy and is perhaps his most durable, though you wouldn't know it from the decades we had to wait for a modern recording. Now there are two: this one, conducted by Marc Minkowski, and William Christie's version on Erato. Choosing between the two is tough. Minkowski uses a smaller and probably more authentic orchestra, and with the resulting leaner sound, the performance has more of a quicksilver quality accentuated by Minkowski's penchant for swift tempos. His cast is excellent. –David Patrick Stearns

Castor et Pollux is Rameau’s third opera and is packed with arias that show off the soloists to their best advantage: Tristes apprêts for Télaïre, Nature, Amour for Pollux, Séjour de l'éternelle paix for Castor, and Soulevons tous les dieux for Phébé. In this new recording Judith Van Wanroij, Reinoud Van Mechelen, Tassis Christoyannis and Véronique Gens are the outstanding performers, alongside the Purcell Choir and the Orfeo Orchestra conducted by György Vashegyi, in a new edition of Rameau's work prepared under the aegis of the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles. Research that was begun several years ago on questions of performance practice has now been complemented by their intensive work on the score and the division of roles, respecting what we now know about performance practice at the Paris Opera in Rameau's day.