Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Les Indes Galantes (1735)
Hebe, Zima - Claron McFadden (soprano)
Zaire - Sandrine Piau (soprano)
L'Amour, Phani - Isabelle Poulenard (soprano)
Fatime - Noemi Rime (soprano)
Emilie - Miriam Ruggeri (soprano)
Valere/Damon - Howard Crook (tenor)
Don Carlos/Tacmas - Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenor)
Bellone/Ali - Jerome Correas (baritone)
Huascar/Don Alvar - Bernard Deletre (bass)
Osman/Adario - Nicolas Rivenq (bass)
Les Arts Florissants/William Christie
rec. 1991, Salle Berthier, Paris
HARMONIA MUNDI HAX8901367.69 [3 CDs: 195:07]
Les Indes Galantes is not only one of Rameau’s most famous works, but it’s also a key work in the history of Les Arts Florissants. It has been long associated with them and, to a great extent, it owes much of its modern rediscovery to staged productions in which Les Arts Florissants have played. The notes don’t specify, but this recording dates from around the time of the first of those productions (Alfredo Arias’ July 1990 production at the Aix festival) and there are some overlaps in casting, so I’d be amazed if recording and production weren’t conceived in parallel. Either way, it has been re-released in luxurious packaging as parts of Les Arts Florissants’ 40th birthday commemorations, and I can think of few recordings from the group’s back catalogue that would make more worthy candidates.
The sound is perhaps a little boxy for its time, but in every other respect this set remains a treat nearly thirty years after it first appeared. The principal reason for this must, surely, be the presiding genius of William Christie. There can be no one alive today who knows more about the world of the French baroque, and it’s to a great extent due to his expertise that we now have such an exciting younger generation featuring the likes of Christophe Rousset and Raphaël Pichon. Christie brings this piece to life as a vibrant drama and in his hands the orchestral textures sparkle like jewels. He fully understands the important role of dance in this piece, and the dozens of dances all move with persuasive flair and unarguable élan. The orchestral special effects – such as the nods towards exotic instruments or, most strikingly, the earthquake in the Inca scene – all come across brilliantly, and the instrumentalists play both with the skill of established experts and with the excitement of those who are unveiling something new.
They anchor the set in the strongest possible way, but the singing is very good too, and fully immersed in the manner and flavour of the French baroque. The sopranos are limpid, lyrical and gorgeous, headed by a delectably sweet Hebe from Claron McFadden who sails into the stratosphere with easy flair. Miriam Ruggeri’s Emilie is beautiful, and a young Sandrine Piau, singing with limpid beauty, demonstrates the flair that would come to make her such a standout individual. Among the tenors, Howard Crook entirely subsumes his American roots to sound convincingly Gallic, both in diction and in musical manner, and his tenor is worthy to stand alongside more long-established French stars like Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (also excellent). Bass Bernard Deletre is perhaps a touch anonymous, but Nicolas Rivenq is a total treat, as is the lighter Jerome Correas.
As with all successful newcomers, eventually the innovator becomes the mainstream, and it gave me pause for thought to consider that this recording, so new in 1991, is now probably the Old Testament among recordings of Les Indes Galantes, certainly when placed alongside newer recordings from Ivor Bolton or, strikingly, György Vashegyi, not to mention Christie’s own DVD performance of Andrei Serban’s Paris Opéra production. However, you can’t understand the New Testament without the Old, so this recording remains as valuable as ever. It helps that Harmonia Mundi have given it a super-luxurious release, with a lovely hardback book, in which the CDs nestle, featuring lots of production photos and full texts with an essay. All that’s missing is a synopsis, but you can find that easily online.
Simon Thompson
