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The musical world owes a debt of gratitude to French conductor Christophe Rousset not only for the vital, exquisite performances he delivers with the ensembles Les Talens Lyriques and Choeur de Chambre de Namur, but for his work in bringing to light neglected masterpieces of Baroque opera. Lully's Bellérophon, premiered in 1679, was a huge success in its time, with an initial run of nine months. Part of its popularity was doubtless due to the parallels that could be drawn between its plot and certain recent exploits of Louis XV, but even the earliest critics recognized the score's uniqueness and exceptional quality within Lully's oeuvre, so it's perhaps surprising that it has never been recorded before. The distinctiveness of the music was likely a result at least in part of the fact that Lully's preferred librettist Philippe Quinault was out of favor at the court of Louis XV at the time, so the composer turned to Thomas Corneille for the libretto, and Corneille's literary and dramatic styles were so different from Quinault's that Lully was nudged out of his comfort zone and had to develop new solutions to questions of structure and the marrying of music to text. It is the first opera for which Lully composed fully accompanied recitatives, and that alone gives it a textural richness that surpasses his earlier works. The composer also allows soloists to sing together, something that was still a rarity in Baroque opera. There are several duets and larger ensembles; the love duet, "Que tout parle à l'envie de notre amour extreme!," is a ravishing expression of passion and happiness, as rhapsodic as anything in 19th century Italian opera. The level of musical inventiveness throughout is exceptional even for Lully; the expressiveness of the recitatives, the charm of the instrumental interludes, the originality of the choruses, and the limpid loveliness of the airs make this an opera that demands attention. Rousset and his forces give an outstanding performance that's exuberantly spirited, musically polished, rhythmically springy, and charged with dramatic urgency. The soloists are consistently of the highest order. Cyril Auvity brings a large, virile, passionate tenor to the title role and Céline Scheen is warmly lyrical as his lover Philonoë. Ingrid Perruche is fiercely powerful as the villain, Stéenobée, and Jean Teitgen is a secure, authoritative Apollo. Soloists, chorus, and orchestra are fluent in the subtle inflections of French middle Baroque ornamentation. The sound of the live recording is very fine, with a clean, immediate, realistic ambience. This is a release that fans of Baroque opera will not want to miss. Highly recommended. © TiVo

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"We are only at the very beginning of the immense task of understanding the vocal, instrumental, and choreographic practices of late sixteenth century France," writes this disc's annotator. It's Italy and its gigantic wedding spectacles that get all the attention at the end of the sixteenth century. (Imagine if Jenna Bush married the son of the president of Exxon Mobil and the White House enlisted hundreds of artists and musicians to build the ceremony.) This disc is, perhaps, for specialists, but it's a lot of fun for anybody. The French historical-instrument ensemble Doulce Mémoire has joined together short (ca. one-minute) dances from the Terpsichore collection (1612) of Michael Praetorius with songs by French court composer Pierre Guédron to form an imagined "grand bal" or grand ball at the court of France's King Henry IV. It is uncertain from existing publications and commentaries what instruments were used in this repertoire; Doulce Mémoire alternates between winds in the Praetorius dances and a small string group backing the Guédron. The group's most distinctive contribution is to play the selections mostly without pause (there are a few breaks), creating, in effect, a sixteenth century dance mix. The CD bins are filled with precious renditions of Praetorius, but these move and push forward as dance music should. Texts for Guédron's songs are given only in French -- not a major impediment to enjoying the music, but the subject matter is sexy, and translations would have produced a smile or two and been easy to fit into the acres of white space on the page. Libraries will want to have this disc, and it makes a fine choice as well for anyone looking for light party music beyond the usual selections -- that was the role it played in its own time. © TiVo

Forty years after Jah Glory (which launched his career back in 1982), the king of African reggae Alpha Blondy has released his 19th studio album, and it’s clear he still has the same passion for music that he’s always had. Following the tradition he began with his first hit Brigadier Sabari, which denounced police violence, Alpha delivers an album full of protest songs, starting with the single Pompier pyromane, which tackles the war-mongering elite. This song was written four years ago, yet it’s still perfectly in tune with current events in 2022. Accompanied by his loyal group The Solar System—who know him and his style like the back of their hands and add a touch of skank to the rhythm—the Ivorian rants about political class (Elections présidentielles), the migrant crisis (Immigrés (La Méditerranée n'a pas pitié )) and female genital mutilation (Excision (Female Genital Mutilation), with Clinton Fearon). A special mention also goes to his brilliant adaptation of Bob Marley’s Soul Rebel (African Rebel) and the 17-minute long closing track, Epistémicide, on which he criticises the current discourse in Africa using sound extracts of anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop, Malian politician Aminata Traoré and author Fatou Diome. At 69 years of age, Alpha Blondy has delivered a strong album that proves he has so much more to say. © Smaël Bouaici/Qobuz