William Christie

One can easily appreciate this early William Christie recording with Capella Coloniensis, a group originally formed in 1954 (!) to perform baroque works in historically informed performances. Christie masters this orchestra well, and the playing is impeccable. The casting is excellent, including some of the great singers of the time: Emma Kirkby, in her prime, Agnes Mellon, Dominique Visse and David Cordier, among others. There is even a male soprano, Randall K. Wong, a rare type of singer indeed.

Serse opens with one of Handel’s most celebrated arias, the Persian King Xerxes’ ode to a plane tree. It provides a serene prelude to an enthralling opera, propelled by power games and amorous intrigue and filled with dazzling vocal virtuosity. Anne Sofie von Otter in the title role leads a superbly balanced cast under the direction of William Christie, a master of baroque style. “Christie masterminds an entertaining performance … This recording captures a theatrical flow and affectionate atmosphere that is deeply satisfying.”

A genius with the ability to combine French and Italian influences in an art that transported the English language, Purcell may be William Christie's favourite composer.This production of Dido and Aeneas, directed by Deborah Warner and interpreted by Les Arts Florissants, was overwhelmingly acclaimed when created at the Vienna Festival in 2006 and again when repeated at the Opéra Comique in 2008.This short opera, one of the earrliest, is particularly dear to William Christie who has recorded and directed it on several occasions.

The French cantata had a brief, but vibrant life during the first three decades of the 18th century. Beginning with Morin's first book in 1706, there followed dozens of books of cantatas by a number of French composers. Clerambault, Boismortier, Rameau and Monteclair all published cantatas during this period. Monteclair may by relatively unknown, but he was a composer of undoubted talent if judged by the works on this recording…If you like the French baroque, do yourself a favor and try to buy this recording. It is a high point in the art of the cantata, and in the musicianship of William Christie and his colleagues.

Jonathan Kent's spectacular production of Purcell's huge semi-opera is joyous, imaginative and witty Glyndebourne, with its intimate auditorium, provides the perfect setting for a drama which is partly spoken and partly sung. Based on an adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the story is lavished with a brilliance that justifies this production's acclaim. Paul Brown's inventive designs, Kim Brandstrup's exquisite choreography, an excellent cast of actors and singers and outstanding playing by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under William Christie combine to make a seamless theatrical experience, here recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

Ma rencontre avec la musique de Charpentier remonte à mes années d'études aux Etats-Unis, au cours desquelles mes professeurs avaient l'habitude de parler de cette musique et de la montrer. J'ai ainsi découvert le "Reniement de Saint-Pierre" dans une anthologie de musique religieuse…Je me souviens aussi avoir entendu du Charpentier chanté en traduction anglaise, parfois aussi en latin par certains chœurs de paroisses protestantes. C'est là que j'ai pris connaissance de la "Pastorale sur la naissance de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ".William Christie

Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is one of the very few 17th-century works to have entered the operatic "canon" and developed a modern performance tradition before the late 20th century's early-music revival. For listeners who had grown fond of this opera in its "traditional" form, the period-instrument recordings of recent years have provided some odd surprises: an all-female cast (excepting Aeneas); a baritone Sorceress; singing in a style closer to a Restoration playhouse than Covent Garden.

It's possible to recreate everything about an eighteenth century opera except the audience,’ says director Robert Carsen in a documentary included with this DVD. ‘My work is for modern audiences.’ And how…In this brilliant production, Carsen goes to the heart of the drama…Michael Levine's stylised, bold designs allow the story to unfold with gripping clarity and, remarkably, some of the spectacular set-pieces (especially the storm in Act III) work even better on DVD than in the theatre itself. Barbara Bonney is vocally and dramatically stunning as Alphise…Conductor William Christie responds to Rameau's varied and colourful score with élan, and Édouard Lock's choreography – a version of classical ballet deconstructed and then pumped with amphetamines – is breathtaking.

"Jephte" was Monteclair's second and final stage work, a lyric tragedy written when he was 65 and apparently the first Biblical opera produced in France since the mystery plays. The influences on Rameau's stage works music are readily apparent: the canny use of orchestral color for dramatic purposes, vivid musical characterization, infectiously lively dance music, and, above all, inspired and stirring choral writing.

C'est le temps où la France de l'Age Classique n'en finissait pas d'opposer le style italien - personnifié alors par le grand virtuose et compositeur Corelli - au style français, associé comme on le sait à Lully, dont le nom n'avait pourtant de français que ce "y" final ! Mais François Couperin ne prit jamais parti, tant ces deux "goûts" lui paraissaient d'égale valeur : c'est ainsi qu'il rendit dans un premier temps hommage à Corelli, à travers cette grande sonade (sic) conçue comme une apothéose. Un an plus tard, L'Apothéose "composée à la mémoire immortelle de l'incomparable Monsieur" de Lully lui offrira un contrepoint fameux, tout à la gloire de la musique française…