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Satie et les Gymnopédistes

François Mardirossian

Solo Piano - Released September 15, 2023 | Ad Vitam records

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Music for Lady Louise

Ensemble Leviathan

Classical - Released November 18, 2022 | harmonia mundi

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Louise de Penancoët de Keroualle (Lady Louise), a spy in the pay of Louis XIV, was the mistress of Charles II. Charged with keeping England under the influence of the Sun King, she forged close links between musicians on either side of the Channel. These political intentions generated a repertory as rich and brilliant as it was expressive. It is a genuine rediscovery that we owe to Ensemble Leviathan and Lucile Tessier. © harmonia mundi
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Offenbach: Le voyage dans la lune

Pierre Dumoussaud

Classical - Released May 27, 2022 | Bru Zane

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Jules Verne was the inspiration for Offenbach’s opéra-féerie, premiered in 1875. The Parisian craze for this type of musical extravaganza stemmed from its impressive stage effects: for Le Voyage dans la Lune, two ballets and some twenty sets took the audience from the Earth to the Moon, successively recreating the Paris Observatory, a working blast furnace and the crater of an erupting volcano. The piece is studded with zany characters and imaginary places: a lunar landscape, a glass palace, mother-of-pearl galleries, etc. The producers even borrowed a dromedary and an ostrich from the zoo at the Jardin d’Acclimatation! To accompany this theatrical display, Offenbach composed a series of colourful, picturesque hit numbers, wittily and energetically performed here by a team of enthusiastic soloists. The Chœur et Orchestre National Montpellier Occitanie are placed under the subtle and precise direction of Pierre Dumoussaud. © Bru Zane
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Legros, haute-contre de Gluck

Reinoud Van Mechelen

Classical - Released September 22, 2023 | Alpha Classics

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Jazz (Akhunov, Poulenc, Messiaen)

Julia Igonina

Classical - Released June 30, 2023 | Aparté

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Stephane Deneve conducts Debussy

Stéphane Denève

Symphonies - Released May 1, 2012 | Chandos

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Stéphane Denève has established himself as a versatile maestro with a highly varied repertoire, from concert fare to operas, but his recordings have revealed him to be a specialist in French orchestral music, notably in his coverage of works by Albert Roussel and Guillaume Connesson. This double hybrid SACD from Chandos offers Denève's interpretations of the orchestral works of Claude Debussy, and the lavishly detailed and expressive performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra show a conductor and an orchestra in complete sympathy with the music. Because the presentation by Chandos is first-rate from an audiophile perspective, with spectacular reproduction and close-up, credible presence, the listener is immersed in Debussy's dazzling colors from the opening of Images, and surrounded by fully dimensional sonorities throughout the album, which includes such other masterpieces of impressionist music as Jeux, Nocturnes, La Mer, Printemps, and Prélude à l'après-midi d'une faune. When the clarity of the notes, the richness of the timbres, and the depth of the orchestra's sound are appreciated altogether, it's truly a seductive experience, and Debussy's lush and atmospheric music achieves its potential in this impressive package. Indeed, it's difficult to pull away from these gorgeous performances, so prepare to listen to both SACDs in one long, leisurely sitting. It's that good.© TiVo
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Lully: Acis et Galatée

Les Talens Lyriques

Opera - Released October 14, 2022 | Aparté

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Composed on 1686 as part of the festivities organised by the Duc de Vendôme in honour of the Grand Dauphin, during the latter’s visit to his estate at the Château d’Anet in September of that year, Acis et Galatée is Lully’s last complete opera. His faithful librettist Quinault having retired from writing for the stage, he collaborated this time with the poet Campistron on a work that tells the story of the love between the sea-nymph Galatea and the shepherd Acis – a love threatened by the violence of the jealous cyclops Polyphemus. This opera, an undoubted dramatic success, gives the orchestra an important part, expressively evoking, for example, the giant’s cries of anger, the terror of the chorus, and the lovers’ hasty flight in Act III. It includes some magnificent pieces, including the final Passacaille, as well as inventive treasures, such as duet for hautes-contre (high tenors) “Ah! je succombe au tourment qui m'accable”, or the burlesque march that accompanies the entry of Polyphemus and his fellow cyclopes, conveying their uncouthness. But the loveliest pieces in the score are for Galatea: “Enfin, j’ai dissipé la crainte”, for instance, or “Que ne puis-je expirer après ce coup funeste?”. Lully died in March 1687, a few months after the première, leaving Achille et Polyxène unfinished. © Aparté
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Duni: Le peintre amoureux de son modèle - Les deux chasseurs et la laitière

Orkester Nord

Opera - Released October 6, 2023 | Aparté

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The composer Egidio Duni is all but unknown nowadays, but he worked amidst several important currents of 18th century musical life. A Neapolitan who wrote Italian operas, he was backed by a noble patron who apparently gave him the means to move to Paris. Duni composed French operas of various types, and Denis Diderot cited him as a counterexample to Rousseau's contention that the French language was unsuited to opera. Duni would be worth hearing for his influence alone; the two short comic works recorded here were important early examples of opéra-comique, but they are also charming in their own right. In Paris, they were known not as operas but as "comédies melées d'ariettes," or comedies mixed with ariettas. Much of the dialogue is spoken, and some of that is unaccompanied, while other pieces have a light continuo-like backing. (This aspect of the notation has not survived, but the decisions made by the performers here are unobjectionable.) The texts hold up even today as pretty funny. Le peintre amoureux de son modèle ("The Painter in Love with His Model," she chooses someone her own age at the end) and Les deux chasseurs et la laitière ("The Two Hunters and the Milkmaid") have crackling sitcom dialogue. Physical album buyers will get a booklet with complete texts. The singers are not spectacular (four in one opera, three in the other), but then, they shouldn't be; what is important is that they put the text across, don't overact, and engage with the comedy. The small Orkester Nord is the right size at 23 players, and conductor Martin Wåhlberg keeps things moving along. This is a delightful release of much more than historical interest. If scores are available, collegiate groups could easily mount productions of these works.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Dire je t'aime

BEN plg

Hip-Hop/Rap - Released January 26, 2024 | Pour La Gloire

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Reveries

Eiji Oue

Classical - Released January 1, 2002 | Reference Recordings

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Weill, Brecht & Hauptmann: L'opéra de quat'sous

Le Balcon

Classical - Released September 22, 2023 | Alpha Classics

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L'opéra de quat'sous ("The Four Penny Opera") is nothing more or less than Die Dreigroschenoper ("The Threepenny Opera") of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. The Threepenny Opera was a hit from the beginning and was almost immediately translated into French, among other languages (even Hungarian), after its 1928 premiere, but here, it is sung in a new translation by Alexandre Pateau. To these imperfectly francophone ears, the translation seems fluent and sharp. The original opera, of course, was based on an English original and featured some adapted French poetry, so a translation into French is less of an experiment than one might think. This was a live recording from the summer of 2023, and although the production featured English and German supertitles, there are no translations in the booklet here. In other ways, too, the production might have fared better live than it does on a recording. The singers are mostly untrained stage actors who ham up the characters in a way that probably worked in person but doesn't come across in audio. (The exceptions here are Claïna Clavaron, who turns in an arresting Mack the Knife at the beginning, Véronique Vella's Celia Peachum, and Marie Oppert as Polly Peachum.) The most important thing to note for listeners who think they are getting simply a French Dreigroschenoper is that the music and text are reinterpreted and reworked. There are some cuts, some added material, spoken descriptions, and, from director Thomas Ostermeier and conductor Maxime Pascal, a percussion-heavy setting that emphasizes every bit of popular-music influence in the score. None of this is necessarily untrue to the spirit of the work, but listeners should sample well and see whether their minds fill in the various blanks here. Alpha's live recording is clear and not marred by stage and production noises.© James Manheim /TiVo
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Le Grand Orchestre Du Splendid Chante Boris Vian

Le Grand Orchestre Du Splendid

French Music - Released January 1, 2002 | Sterne

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On the Shoulders of Giants

Claudio Bohorquez

Classical - Released May 26, 2023 | Berlin Classics

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Debussy, Stravinsky : Piano à quatre mains

Geister Duo

Chamber Music - Released April 7, 2023 | Mirare

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Just over a year after releasing their first CD for Mirare (which we proudly awarded a Qobuzissime!), the Geister Duo is back to present us with its little brother: an album dedicated to the modernisms of the 1900s and two of its most illustrious representatives, Debussy and Stravinsky. Musically, the end of the 20th century was marred by departures and farewells, particularly to the late Romantics and post-Wagnerism. The journey towards new musical horizons, tonalities and modern forms had begun. It was during this time that a trio of talented composers joined forces. Debussy published his Six Epigraphes antiques in 1915, but their beginnings date back to 1900 when his close friend Pierre Louÿs commissioned him to write music for his Chansons de Bilitis. The six titles describe, in a poetic and ethereal fashion, a musical antiquity similar to that of Pelléas and Mélisande. Maurice Ravel was in the audience during the first performance of Debussy’s Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune in 1894. This audience, including a captivated young Ravel, were left with nothing but high praise for Debussy. Ravel made it his duty to create a transcription that would perfectly “orchestrate” the piano four hands. Though Stravinsky’s Petrushka was received with slightly more criticism, it still ensured the composer’s international success. A far cry from late Romanticism, the emphasis here is on clear forms, sharp edges and diatonic pronunciation. The three works are uniquely presented in their chamber music version for piano. With only their four hands, David Salmon and Manuel Viellard manage to recreate an entire orchestra, transporting the listener to a musical era bursting with opportunity. The aural symbiosis of the two pianists seems even more refined than in their last recording and demonstrates that the duo still have a bright future ahead of them. © Lena Germann/ Qobuz
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L'oiseau et la bulle

Pierre Chêne

Children - Released January 1, 1978 | Victorie music

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Debussy : La Mer, Nocturnes, Ibéria & Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Diapason n°569)

Orchestre National de France

Symphonic Music - Released October 25, 2012 | Les Indispensables de Diapason

Booklet Distinctions Diapason d'or