French Baroque Music

[Que]

Spieth is interesting, would like to hear more of her.

Maybe someone could upload STIL I mean Scott Ross, his Rameau is amazing, would love to hear his Couperin but availability is almost non-existant.

I'm also curious of Rannou double on Zig-Zag.

Don't forget Olivier Baumont (Erato)!

Some extra Spieth.



Q

[71 dB]

But all in all, I was somewhat disappointed in the musical inspiration of Monsieur Stuck

Interesting because the only work by him I have (Héraclite et Démocrite) blew me away. Perhaps it's Monsieur Stuck's best effort?

[Drasko]

Don't forget Olivier Baumont (Erato)!

Some extra Spieth.

Thanks! Spieth box has been tempting me for some time now, but the price is not much of a bargain. The Baumont set is four times (!) cheaper at the moment:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Couperin-Complete-Works-Harpsichord-Francois/dp/B000OCZ7WK
Haven't heard his Couperin but do have his complete Rameau on Adda, very good, mostly straightforward playing with nice rhythmic assertiveness.

[Que]

Thanks! Spieth box has been tempting me for some time now, but the price is not much of a bargain. The Baumont set is four times (!) cheaper at the moment:

Spieth is indeed distastefully expensive. I got lucky: just at the moment my interest was raised in the set, I discovered SOLSTICE had it in a temporal offer: 40% off. So I took my chances immediately.. Check their site now and then.
One caveat: the set was produced before the advent of slim cardboard boxes, so it is (like my Rousset set) HUGE..

Q

[Bunny]

There is also a brilliant box set of Couperin by Michael Borgstede.  Does anyone know anything about that?  I have the Rousset (purchased when it was first released), and have tried in vain to obtain the Scott Ross set as well.  The Spieth set is so tempting, but at today's rate of exchange, prohibitively expensive!

[Harry]

There is also a brilliant box set of Couperin by Michael Borgstede.  Does anyone know anything about that?  I have the Rousset (purchased when it was first released), and have tried in vain to obtain the Scott Ross set as well.  The Spieth set is so tempting, but at today's rate of exchange, prohibitively expensive!

You can buy this set without any doubt about the quality Bunny.
Recordings and instruments are fine, and the performances better as any that I heard, graceful, almost royal renderings.
Scott Ross is fine to, but a bit to racy for my taste, they make me very nervous.

[The new erato]

I like it as well. Very graceful (as Harry says) and sensual performances.

[FideLeo]

There is also a brilliant box set of Couperin by Michael Borgstede.  Does anyone know anything about that?  I have the Rousset (purchased when it was first released), and have tried in vain to obtain the Scott Ross set as well.  The Spieth set is so tempting, but at today's rate of exchange, prohibitively expensive!

Honestly I like the sound on the Olivier Baumont set better (a Radio France production).  Baumont's
interpretation may strike some as being plain but I think it is subtle.  (Brilliance suits Chopin better
than it does Couperin as far as I am concerned.)

[Bunny]

For all still interested:  Olivier Baumont's Couperin (Warner) is now in stock at BRO.

[Bunny]

For those still interested: Noëlle Spieth's Couperin is available at DiscoveryRecords.com for £82.99 (~$162.00). Shipping to USA is £2.00 (cheaper than Amazon UK!).  That's the best price I've been able to findl; Solstice lists it at €125 ($193.00).

[rubio]

French baroque lovers! 
I'm just dropping a short note on an interesting bargain box set "200 years of Music at Versailles" that has just been released. It contains 20 CD's and a CD-ROM with liner notes, for about €50, with top performers from various labels, like Rousset, Minkowski, Niquet, Schneebeli, Christie, etc.


click on picture for a presentation (in French) of the content with samples

A review on classiquenews.com (in French)

On Amazon: FR.

Q

Has anybody here listened to this set now? How is the repertoire? A lot of fanfares?

[Drasko]

Very enjoyable, although singing of Aix-en-Provance group is occasionally touch less polished than under usual suspects (Christie, Minkowski or Schneebeli for instance)



Two samples (whole motets):

Grand Motet Paratum cor meum
Laure Bonnaure (Dessus), Jean-François Lombard (Haute-Contre), Jean-François Novelli (Taille)
Vincent Deliau (Baryton), René Linnenbank (Basse)
Chœur & Ensemble instrumental des Festes d’Orphée
Direction : Guy Laurent

Petit Motet Afferte Domino
Laure Bonnaure (Dessus), Brigitte Tramier (orgue historique de l’église de Cucuron)

[Que]

Very enjoyable, although singing of Aix-en-Provance group is occasionally touch less polished than under usual suspects (Christie, Minkowski or Schneebeli for instance)



Two samples (whole motets)

Drasko, many thanks for the samples! Sounds indeed like nice "earthy" performances. Like the music as well, maybe Gilles was not the brightest light of the French Baroque but this is very enjoyable.

I have ordered this set, and the price including shipping came to about $150 which really is a bargain if you consider the price at Solstice and the state of the American dollar.

Great that you could get it at an afforable price!
Will be most curious what you make of the music making on that set.

Q

[Bunny]

Even better, I was able to pick up the Baumont set at Berkshire Records for a mere $49.90 (plus BRO's extremely low shipping charges).  That is actually better than the prices I saw for the Brilliant Classics set.  Unfortunately, that one is still on the unopened stack, but I hope to be able to listen to it very soon.

[Drasko]

I've been looking for some reading material on the matter of this thread, is this one recommendable? Anyone familiar with it? This should be latest (2nd) revision mounting to about 600 pages.
I'm guessing there is much wider selection of books in French but unfortunately can't read French.

[71 dB]

While exploring new composer of classical music I am constantly surprised how my "early" favorites keep kicking ass. I loved M.-A. Charpentier's music the first time I heard it on radio and I still do. He is definitely my favorite French composer of 17th century. I have 5 discs of his music on Naxos (excellent value, recommended!), La Descente... opera (William Christie) and 3 CDs of Lecons de Ténèbres on Virgin (Il Seminario musicale/Lesne) which is just mindblowing. Why explore inferior composers when I can explore superior composers like Charpentier? Then there is of course Rameau, the greatest French composer of 18th century.

[Lethevich]

Who are the best composers of "grands motets", and which are the preferred recordings of them? I recently heard De Mondonville's and was very impressed, and from a quick Amazon scan, I see that composers in this style include Rameau, Campra, Lully, De Lalande, Desmarest, Du Mont, which is a lot to buy without any guidance... 0:)

[Bunny]

Meanwhile, Arkivmusic.com just sent out an ad for this "new," "latest and greatest" box set: 200 Ans de Musique à Versailles
All for the bargain (?!) price of $99.99. 



Label:  MBF   Catalog #: MBF1108

Partial Description:

Composer:   Antoine Boësset,  Robert Ballard,  Anonymous,  Jacques Chambonnieres,  François Richard,
Jean Lacquemant,  Ennemond Gaultier,  François De Chancy,  Etienne Moulinie,  Michel Lambert,
Jean-Baptiste Lully,  Andre Destouches,  Pascal Colasse,  Marin Marais,  Marc-Antoine Charpentier,
François Couperin,  Michel Richard Delalande,  Jean-Baptiste Lully II,  Henry Dumont,  Henry Desmarets,
Sébastien de Brossard,  Jean-Philippe Rameau,  François Francoeur,  Franç. Collin de Blamont,  Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville,
André Campra,  Claude-Béninge Balbastre,  Michel Corrette,  Louis-Claude Daquin,  Antonio Sacchini,
Niccolò Piccinni,  Rodolphe Kreutzer,  Pierre-Alexandr Monsigny,  Jean-François Lesueur,  François Joseph Gossec,
François-André Danican Philidor,  André Modeste Grétry,  Simon Leduc,  Henri-Joseph Rigel,  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Hyacinthe Jadin,  François Devienne,  Pierre Vachon,  Giuseppe Maria Cambini,  Luigi Boccherini,
François Giroust,  Nicolas Séjean,  Guillaume Lasceux
Performer:  Monique Zanetti,  Claire Antonini,  Barbara Kusa,  Marc Mauillon,  Jean-François Lombard,
Edwin Crossley-Mercer,  Véronique Gens,  Benoît Porcherot,  David Witczak,  Stéphanie D'Oustrac,
Patricia Petitbon,  Sophie Daneman,  Sabine Garrone,  Edwige Parat,  Anne Magouët,
François-Nicolas Geslot,  Hervé Lamy,  Jean-Claude Sarragosse,  Céline Scheen,  Mathias Vidal,
Hanna Bayodi,  Lluis Vilamajó,  Stephan Macleod,  Amel Brahim-Djelloul,  Damien Guillon,
Howard Crook,  Arnaud Marzoratti,  Sébastien Droy,  Stéphanie Révidat,  Olivier Lallouette,
Jean-Paul Fauchécourt,  Delphine Collot,  Catherine Padaut,  Gilles Ragon,  Jérôme Corréas,
Paul Agnew,  Rebecca Ockenden,  Laurent Slaars,  Jean-Louis Meunier,  Luc Coadou,
Russel Smythe,  Jean-Paul Fouchécourt,  Bernarda Fink,  Laurent Naouri,  Jean-Louis Georgel,
Jacques Des Longchamps,  Arnaud Richard,  Bénédicte Tauran,  Aurore Bucher,  Caroline Mutel,
Virginie Pochon,  Jean-Sébastien Bou,  Maarten Koningsberger,  François Piolino,  Maryseult Wieczorek,
François Bazola,  Nicolas Rivenq,  Isabelle Poulenard,  Romain Champion,  Robert Getchell,
Christophe Grapperon,  Olivier Latry,  Roberta Invernizzi,  Pierre-Yves Pruvot,  Andreas Staier,
Atsushi Sakai,  Karine Crocquenoy,  Julien Chauvin,  Cécile Brossard,  Alexis Kossenko,
Alain Buet,  Cyril Auvity,  James Oxley,  Kareen Durand,  Philippe Do
Conductor:  Gérard Lesne,  Olivier Schneebeli,  Alice Piérot,  Patrick Cohën-Akenine,  Marek Stryncl,
William Christie,  Joel Suhubiette,  Philippe Pierlot,  Hervé Niquet,  Christophe Coin,
Marc Minkowski,  Christophe Rousset,  Frederick Haas,  Mira Glodeanu,  Sébastien D'Hérin,
Louis Castelain,  Antonio Florio,  Guy Van Waas,  Jérôme Corréas,  Jérémie Rhorer,
Jean-Claude Malgoire
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Seminario Musicale,  Musica Florea,  Les Pages et Les Chantres de Versailles,
Le Concert Spirituel,  Les Folies Françoises,  Les Arts Florissants,
Jacques Moderne Ensemble,  Ricercar Consort,  Collegium Vocale Gent,
Limoges Baroque Ensemble,  Accentus Chamber Choir,  Les Musiciens du Louvre,
Les Talens Lyriques,  Ausonia,  Les Nouveaux Caractères,
Le Parnasse Français,  Cappella della Pietà de' Turchini,  Les Agrémens,
Les Paladins,  Le Cercle de l'Harmonie,  Cambini Quartet,
Namur Chamber Choir,  Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles

Number of Discs: 20
Recorded in: Stereo

[71 dB]

Who are the best composers of "grands motets", and which are the preferred recordings of them? I recently heard De Mondonville's and was very impressed, and from a quick Amazon scan, I see that composers in this style include Rameau, Campra, Lully, De Lalande, Desmarest, Du Mont, which is a lot to buy without any guidance... 0:)

I enjoy much the three Naxos discs of Lully's Grands Motets performed excelently by Le Concert Spirituel/Hervé Niquet.

[Que]

Meanwhile, Arkivmusic.com just sent out an ad for this "new," "latest and greatest" box set: 200 Ans de Musique à Versailles
All for the bargain (?!) price of $99.99. 

See my earlier post on page 7 of this thread for more details - €45 at Amazon.fr!

Q