This 2-CD set, recorded to mark the tenth anniversary of Le
Concert d’Astrée, is not, as you may think – as, indeed, I first
thought – a sampler from their back catalogue. It’s a recording
of a concert given by them at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées
in Paris in December 2011 to celebrate the event and to raise
money for the charity ‘Cancer Revolution 2010-2013’. We have,
in fact, already had a sampler of the music from their regular
recordings on a 2-CD album entitled Handel Arias and Duet,
coupling performances from the Concert d’Astrée back catalogue
with those of other artists and released in 2009 for the Handel
centenary celebrations (Virgin 6960352 – see review).
In spite of some very minor individual reservations, only those
lovers of baroque music who react negatively to the Concert
d’Astrée’s manner or who dislike live recordings with some applause
– and even some ‘audience participation’ – are likely to be
put off. The soloists are a mixed bunch in terms of their credentials
as baroque specialists; some, like Natalie Dessay, a baroque
singer who’s also at home in Richard Strauss; Zerbinetta in
Ariadne auf Naxos – see review
of DVD, Virgin Classics 6418679, and Philippe Jaroussky clearly
are. Others aren’t, but there’s nothing here that’s seriously
unstylish: Anne Sofie von Otter, for example, a less frequent
visitor to the baroque, sings in a convincing style in Quelle
plainte en ces lieux m’appelle? from Hippolyte et Aricie
(CD1, track 3) for example.
The first CD opens with a rousing performance of colourful music
from Les Indes Galantes. It’s so good that I hope that
the Concert will record the whole work some time – and that’s
true of all the music here that they haven’t already recorded.
Christopher Purves in the Cold Scene from Purcell’s King
Arthur with its uncanny foretaste of Vivaldi’s Winter
(CD1, tr.18) is as convincing as on any version of this semi-opera
that I’ve heard.
Emmanuelle Haïm explains in the notes that it would have been
impossible to offer an overview of their recorded repertoire,
so they wisely concentrated on ‘the composers who guided [their]
first steps and to whose music [they] return from time to time.’
That means neglecting Monteverdi, for example, in favour of
Rameau, who takes the major share of CD1, Lully, Purcell and,
most of all Handel, whose music ends the first CD and takes
up the whole of the second. As far as I can see, just one item
performed at the concert, from Handel’s early Aci, Galatea
e Polifemo, has been omitted from the recording.
Haïm’s recordings of Handel have not met with universal acclaim:
Robert Hugill found much to admire and enjoy in her live recording
of la Resurezzione, for example, but disliked some
of the solo vocal contributions from singers not chiefly known
as specialists in baroque music: Virgin 6945670, 2 CDs – see
review;
for a more positive review of one of their live concerts, see
Seen and Heard review.
Sara Mingardo sings Maria Cleophas’s aria Piangete, sì piangete
from this work on track 6 of CD2 and, whilst she’s not solely
a baroque specialist, with Berlioz, Verdi and Bizet roles to
her credit, she’s far from unknown in this field. Her performance
here is stylish enough and it certainly pleased the audience.
Rolando Villazon gets an even bigger round of applause on the
next track for his Ciel e terra from Tamerlano.
He has already sung this aria with the Gabrieli Players and
Paul McCreesh on an all-Handel recital which received something
of a mixed reception from Göran Forsling (DG 477 8056 – see
review).
His singing on the Virgin set is undoubtedly beautiful and accomplished
enough to appeal to an audience of non-specialists and I think
it will have the same appeal for most general listeners, though
specialists may have some doubts.
With such a large roll-call of distinguished soloists, whom
I’ve itemised in the track-listings below – they fill the stage
in the double-page spread photograph on pages 18-19 of the booklet
– so ably supported by choir, orchestra and above all Haïm herself,
this is well worth having. If it’s your first exposure to these
composers, you’ll want to follow up its purchase. You may be
hard put to know where to begin and that’s where the back reviews
of MusicWeb International can help. Click the ‘search’ button
and type in the name of the composer and work which has grabbed
your fancy. If it’s Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, for
example, there’s a wonderful DVD recording of the complete work
to which Jonathan Rohr awarded Recording of the Month
status (Opus Arte OA0923D – you’ll find his review here).
Back in the day, you were either a Lully or a Rameau supporter
but today we can enjoy the music of both. There’s music from
only one Lully work on Une fête baroque, so I’m also
going to recommend a recent recording of orchestral suites from
three of Lully’s operas to which I’ve been listening from the
Naxos Music Library:
Jean-Baptiste LULLY Phaëton, Atys et Armide Ouvertures
avec tous les Airs
Ouverture avec tous les Airs à jouer de l’Opéra de Phaëton
[24:54]
Ouverture avec tous les Airs à jouer de l’Opéra d’Atys
[14:22]
Ouverture, Chaconne et tous les autres Airs à jouer de l’Opéra
d’Armide [23:21]
Barockorchester Capriccio/Dominik Kiefer (leader) – rec. March
2011. DDD
Pdf booklet included
TUDOR 7185 [62:38]
These suites from three of Lully’s operas are taken from the
four-part arrangements published by Estienne Roger in Amsterdam
between 1697 and 1712, which is how Lully’s music came to be
known outside France. They should appeal to any lovers of French
baroque music, even those not especially enamoured of singing
– it’s Lully without tears, as it were, for them. With excellent
performances – different instrumental figurations for each of
the operas – and recording and a valuable set of notes, this
is strongly recommended. If only Tudor had given us a more interesting
cover all would have been perfect. As it is, I enjoyed this
very much.
Those are follow-up suggestions, but the 2-CD 10th
anniversary set under consideration is an ideal place to start,
with a wealth of wonderful music, performances that are likely
to disappoint very few listeners – chiefly those who already
know that they don’t like the Concert d’Astrée manner – and
recording to match. If the documentation is more noted for style
than for substance, that’s my only real reservation about a
set which I enjoyed hearing: I could easily have foregone some
of the many colour photographs in the booklet for the sake of
having the texts and a more detailed set of notes. Even though
this set is offered effectively as 2-for-1, that’s no excuse
for the omission: some less expensive offerings manage to contain
texts.
Brian Wilson
CD 1
Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683-1764)
Les Indes galantes, Opéra-ballet (1735) -
Les Sauvages, nouvelle entrée de 1736, scène 6: Danse
du Calumet de la Paix et duo ‘Forêts paisibles’ [5:22]
Natalie Dessay (Zima); Stéphane Degout (Adario)
Hippolyte et Aricie, Tragédie lyrique (1733) Quelle
plainte en ces lieux m’appelle? [4:32]
Anne Sofie von Otter (Phèdre)
Dardanus, Tragédie lyrique (1739) La descente de
Vénus [1:20]
Calme des sens, Prologue Act 2 [1:42]
Tambourins [1:24]
Hippolyte et Aricie: Rossignols amoureux [6:09]
A la chasse, à la chasse [3:23]
Jaël Azzaretti (la bergère); Aurélia Legay (la chasseresse)
Dardanus: Monstre affreux, monstre redoutable
[4:18]
Stéphane Degout (Anténor)
Platée, Ballet-bouffon (1745) Formons les plus
brillants concerts [5:49]
Patricia Petibon (la folie)
Hippolyte et Aricie: Bruit de tonnerre [1:15]
Castor et Pollux, Tragédie lyrique (1737) Tristes
apprêts [4:50]
Karine Deshayes (Télaïre)
Dardanus: Chaconne [6:00]
Les Indes galantes: Régnez, plaisirs et jeux
[3:28]
Sonya Yoncheva (Zima)
Dardanus (1744 version) Lieux funestes [5:16]
Paix favorable, paix adorable [3:45]
Topi Lehtipuu (Dardanus); Françoise Masset (Phrygienne); Stéphane
Degout (Phrygien)
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (1632-1687)
Thésée, Tragédie lyrique (1675) Ouverture et marche
[1:26]
Vivez contents dans ces aimables lieux [2:49]
Jaël Azzaretti (Cléone); Françoise Masset (Aeglé); Stéphane
Degout (Arcas)
Henry PURCELL (1659-1695) King Arthur
or the British Worthy, Z628 (1691) What Power art
thou [3:23]
Christopher Purves (Cold Genius)
Come, ye Sons of Art, Z323 (Birthday Ode for Queen
Mary, 1694)
Sound the Trumpet [4:50]
Pascal Bertin, Philippe Jaroussky (counter-tenors)
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Rinaldo, HWV7a (1711) In quel bosco di strali…
Al trionfo del nostro furore [4:22]
CD 2
George Frideric HANDEL
Rinaldo: Lascia ch’io pianga [5:27]
Laura Claycomb (Armida); Lorenzo Regazzo (Argante); Ann Hallenberg
(Almirena);
Agrippina (1709) Come nube che fugge dal vento
[4:10]
Renata Pokupic (Nerone)
Dixit Dominus, Psalm, HWV232 (1707) De torrente
via bibet [4:23]
Natalie Dessay, Karine Deshayes (sopranos)
Il Delirio Amoroso, Cantata, HWV99 (1707) Un pensiero
voli in ciel [6:35]
Magali Léger (Clori)
La Resurezzione, Oratorio, HWV47 (1708) Piangete,
si, piangete [3:45]
Sara Mingardo (Maria Cleofe)
Tamerlano, Opera in 3 acts, HWV18 (1724) Ciel e
terra armi di sdegno [3:36]
Rolando Villazón (Bajazet)
Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV17, Opera in 3 acts, HWV17
(1724) Son nata a lagrimar [8:18]
Anne Sofie von Otter (Cornelius) Philippe Jaroussky (Sesto)
Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, Oratorio, HWV46a
(1707) Voglio tempo per risolvere [4:08]
Jaël Azzaretti (Bellezza); Ann Hallenberg (Piacere); Marijana
Mijanovic (Disinganno); Topi Lehtipuu (Tempo)
Giulio Cesare: E pur così in un giorno…
Piangerò [7:41]
Sandrine Piau (Cleopatra)
Rinaldo: Venti turbini [3:46]
Philippe Jaroussky (Rinaldo)
Aci, Galatea e Polifemo, Cantata a tre, HWV72 (1708)
Benchè tuoni e l’etra avvampi [3:13]
Delphine Haidan (Galatea)
Giulio Cesare: Che sento… Se pietà [9:51]
Natalie Dessay (Cleopatra)
Theodora, Oratorio, HWV68 (1750) How strange their
ends [4:20]
Messiah, Oratorio, HWV56 (1742) Hallelujah
[5:02]
Le Concert d’Astrée/Emmanuelle Haïm
