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Psyché

Christophe Rousset

Classical - Released January 13, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice

René Jacobs

Classical - Released September 28, 2001 | harmonia mundi

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Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice - 1762 Edition with 1774 Paris Revisions

Teresa Stich-Randall

Opera - Released December 31, 2021 | Vanguard Classics

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Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Tragic Opera in three acts

Hans Rosbaud

Classical - Released January 5, 2022 | Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording

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Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 30

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

Classical - Released January 1, 1967 | Orfeo

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Atys

Christophe Rousset

Opera - Released January 5, 2024 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Backed by the Sun King despite a lukewarm audience reception at first, Lully's Atys (1676) went on to become one of the composer's most successful operas, with revivals at French court theaters as late as 1753. In modern times, however, it is a considerably rarer item due to the massive forces and time required. Christophe Rousset was in the pit as harpsichordist when conductor William Christie gave the first modern revival of the work in the late '80s. That experience marks this 2024 release, which made classical best-seller lists at the beginning of that year. That is not common for a hefty five-act Baroque opera, but even a bit of sampling will confirm why it happened: Rousset, from the keyboard, brings tremendous energy to the opera. He pushes the tempo in the numerous dances and entrance numbers, and the musicians of Les Talens Lyriques and the singers of the Choeur du Chambre de Namur, all of whom have worked closely with Rousset in the past, keep right up. The singers in the solo roles are all fine; haut-contre Reinoud Van Mechelen in the title role and Ambroisine Bré as the goddess Cybèle, who sets the tragic plot in motion, are standouts. The sound from the increasingly engineering-expert Château de Versailles label is exceptionally clear in complex textures, and the sensuous cover art (representing, it is true, not the Roman mythological figure of Atys but Hippomène and Atalante) is a bonus. In the end, this is Rousset's Atys, and that is a very good thing.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Céphale et Procris

Reinoud Van Mechelen

Classical - Released February 9, 2024 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Écho & Narcisse

Hervé Niquet

Classical - Released August 25, 2023 | Château de Versailles Spectacles

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Legros, haute-contre de Gluck

Reinoud Van Mechelen

Classical - Released September 22, 2023 | Alpha Classics

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La Harpe Reine: Concertos for Harp at the Court of Marie-Antoinette

Xavier de Maistre

Classical - Released October 21, 2016 | harmonia mundi

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Baroque Arias for Horn (Beyond Words)

Felix Klieser

Classical - Released February 19, 2021 | Berlin Classics

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Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice (Live Version)

Jean-Claude Malgoire

Opera - Released January 1, 1994 | naïve classique

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Parry: Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, Blest Pair of Sirens

London Mozart Players

Choral Music (Choirs) - Released September 8, 2023 | Chandos

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Hubert Parry's Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, from 1880, here receives its world-recorded premiere. Perhaps recording companies thought there wouldn't be much of a market for a heavy 19th century choral work with, it must be said, a ponderous text by Percy Bysshe Shelley (Prometheus was a play intended to be read, not performed, just to give an idea). How wrong they were. This release made classical best-seller lists in the summer of 2023, and it is altogether enjoyable. At the time, Parry was under the spell of Wagner, whom he traveled to Bayreuth to meet. That influence certainly shows up in Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, with its basically declamatory text, partly through-composed music, wind-and-brass-heavy orchestration, and splashes of chromaticism. Yet what is remarkable is that the music does not come off as an imitation of Wagner at all. Rather, it uses elements of his style to match a specific kind of English literary text. The work gradually disappeared, but it would be surprising if Elgar, whom it clearly prefigures, did not know it well. The performances here are luminous, with William Vann using the lighter-than-expected London Mozart Players to create transparent textures against which he can set the substantial voices of Sarah Fox, Sarah Connolly, and other soloists. Parry did write some shorter pieces that remain in the repertory; one of these, Blest Pair of Sirens, is included here as a finale. However, the Scenes from Shelley's Prometheus Unbound are the main news here, and this performance, showing how this kind of thing should be done, may generate a new life for the work. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Machaut: The Fount of Grace

Orlando Consort

Classical - Released July 7, 2023 | Hyperion

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Poulenc: La voix humaine

Véronique Gens

Classical - Released January 13, 2023 | Alpha Classics

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Francis Poulenc's La Voix Humaine ("The Human Voice") is a one-woman opera, less than an hour long, about a woman on the phone with her boyfriend as they break up. Set to a text by Jean Cocteau, it puts the woman through strong mood swings. (Country music fans may wish to compare it to As Soon as I Hang Up the Phone, although there, the boyfriend is present to deliver the final blow.) Soprano Véronique Gens is best known for music from the 17th century up to Mozart, but it is easy to believe the claim in the publicity materials for this release that she had always wanted to record this work; its direct, conversational quality, interspersed with occasional freakouts, fits her manner beautifully. It might seem that those freakouts require a bit more intensity than Gens gives them here, but that is not really in the Cocteau spirit and certainly not in the Poulenc spirit. Gens receives sensitive support from the Orchestre National de Lille under Alexandre Bloch, who also ring down the curtain with a lithe performance of the joyous Sinfonietta. There are other strong performances of Poulenc's little opera, which ought to be much more frequently heard and would be ideal for university voice programs, but this one is instantly appealing and quite memorable, and it is no surprise that it made classical best-seller charts in early 2023. © James Manheim /TiVo
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Debussy: Piano Works

Walter Gieseking

Classical - Released October 10, 1996 | Warner Classics

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Femmes

Raphaela Gromes

Classical - Released February 3, 2023 | Sony Classical - Sony Music

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Legacy

Christian-Pierre La Marca

Classical - Released January 20, 2023 | naïve

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Christian-Pierre La Marca’s Legacy offers a stunning exploration of the connections between Italian and Viennese classicism through some of the best cello pieces composed by Porpora, Haydn and Mozart. During the 18th century, the instrument began to emerge from the orchestra, moving away from its status as an accompaniment instrument to become a solo one in its own right. Surrounded by the wonderful musicians of the Concert de la Loge directed by Julien Chauvin, La Marca is in his element here. The baroque pitch and period instruments are fertile ground for him, and he’s free to lose himself in his full-bodied and tuneful playing.The musician’s affinity for the voice is no secret, and he’s particularly interested in transcribing vocal expression onto his instrument. The cellist maintains impeccable accuracy, notably in the transcription of ‘Danse des ombres heureuses’ by Gluck, a piece that has guided him since childhood. He forms the perfect duo with tenor Philippe Jaroussky in ‘Giusto Amor, tu che m’accendi’, taken from Porpora’s Gli orti Esperidi. The entire album maps out the heartfelt ties that bind La Marca to other performers: Jaroussky, Le Concert de la Loge, and even his brother, violist Adrien La Marca, who features on this interpretation of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante. The recording is wrapped in an indescribable warmth, and it’s evident that the performers have thoroughly enjoyed working together. When stylistic artistry meets sheer joy, you know you’re in for a treat. © Pierre Lamy/Qobuz
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Camille & Julie Berthollet

Camille Berthollet

Classical - Released October 28, 2016 | Warner Classics

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This debut recital by teenage sisters Camille and Julie Berthollet (Camille plays both violin and cello, Julie the violin) consists of light music, but has an exuberant, fearless quality that suggests deeper things to come. The sisters arrange the program in the manner of a 19th century concert for the general public, with an orchestra trading tracks with a piano in the accompanist slot and a gleeful mix of familiar tunes, ethnic dances, folk-like melodies (here extended forward to Gershwin, whose Summertime gets a highly novel treatment), and movements of serious trios by Schubert, gorgeously played. This would all be enough in itself, but the real fun comes from the constantly shifting roles of the solo violins and cello, variously deployed in arrangements that have in some cases been around for a while (the Gluck tune appears in a setting by Fritz Kreisler), but have never been put together in quite this way. Sample the Paganini Caprice No. 24 and enjoy the deconstruction of Paganini's solo violin work into material for two violins and orchestra. The cleverness with which the whole program is put together belies the lightness of the material, and these are definitely young musicians to watch. Highly recommended.© TiVo
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Mozart: Sonatas for Piano & Violin

Renaud Capuçon

Classical - Released June 23, 2023 | Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

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There are various complete recordings of Mozart's sonatas for piano and violin, most of them leaving off the juvenilia or relegating them to a separate volume (here they are omitted). This one by violinist Renaud Capuçon and keyboardist Kit Armstrong, playing modern instruments, holds the listener's interest unusually strongly. There are several reasons for this. One is the easy rapport between the two players, responding quickly to slight expressive moves or alterations in the tempo by one player or the other. They capture the rapidly developing role of the violin over the course of the set as it is transformed from an accompanimental instrument to a full partner in the dialogue. A second plus is the inclusion of two variation sets, the 12 Variations on "La bergère Celimène," K. 359, and the Six Variations on "Hélas, j'ai perdu mon amant," K. 360. These are not often heard, and quite opposite to what one might expect from their lightweight themes, they are substantial works. The role of the violin here, too, is key; although the piano is still the dominant partner, the violin was ready and available as a sound that would vary the texture, and Mozart exploited it to the hilt. Other attractions include the variety of Capuçon's playing within a fairly circumscribed context and an excellent feel for the dry language of the later sonatas, with their counterpoint and daringly irregular phrase shapes. A major entry in the Mozart discography, which landed on classical best-seller charts in the summer of 2023. © James Manheim /TiVo