Cyrille Dubois, Christophe Rousset, Les Talens Lyriques – Couperin: The Sphere of Intimacy (2022)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:07:51 minutes | 1,36 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Aparté
Heavenly Handel – a spiritual love story. The mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, who was awarded the Opus Klassik as “Singer of the Year 2022”, once again realized a joint project together with the lutenist Thomas Dunford and his young, playful ensemble Jupiter – the dream team of the award-winning album Amazone: with this album they present arias and duets from the operatic oratorios of Georg Friedrich Händel and develop their own story from it.
Thomas Dunford jokingly calls his concept “A baroque West Side Story”. During the pandemic, Lea Desandre and he combed through the entire English-language works of Handel, a Londoner by choice. The two interweaved the most impressive pieces of music for them into a spiritual love story of two heroes, interpreted by Lea Desandre and the British countertenor Iestyn Davies. It is a storytelling in the composer’s spirit: in order to attract the puritanical and opera-weary Londoners to the theater, the resourceful Handel took up famous Bible episodes and mythological materials. On the fine line between deep spirituality and Italian opera passion, he thus created a new kind of lively oratorio. And so this album combines some of the most intimate and colorful moments from oratorios such as Esther, Susanna, Semele, Theodora and Hercules. Thomas Dunford directs the ensemble Jupiter from his lute.
Tracklist:
1-01. Christophe Rousset – Les Pèlerines “Au Temple de l’Amour” (03:49)
1-02. Christophe Rousset – “Qu’on ne me dise plus” (03:31)
1-03. Christophe Rousset – La Sultane: [Gravement] – [Gayement] – Air tendrement – Légèrement (09:30)
1-04. Christophe Rousset – L’Abeille (01:03)
1-05. Christophe Rousset – Gavotte italienne (00:50)
1-06. Christophe Rousset – Les Nonettes. Les Blondes (01:01)
1-07. Christophe Rousset – Les Nonettes. Les Brunes (01:10)
1-08. Christophe Rousset – Sicilienne (01:33)
1-09. Christophe Rousset – “Doux liens de mon cœur” (03:20)
1-10. Christophe Rousset – La Pastorelle “Il faut aimer” (03:35)
1-11. Christophe Rousset – La Superbe: [Lentement] – [Gayement] – Très tendrement – Légèrement – Air tendre – Gayement (07:09)
1-12. Christophe Rousset – La Diane (01:13)
1-13. Christophe Rousset – La Florentine (01:51)
1-14. Christophe Rousset – Les Solitaires “Dans l’Île de Cythère” (03:15)
1-15. Christophe Rousset – Brunette “Zéphire, modère en ces lieux” (06:38)
1-16. Christophe Rousset – La Steinkerque: Gayement, bruits de guerre – Air lentement – Gravement – Légèrement – Mouvement de fanfares – Lentement – Gravement – Gayement (10:01)
1-17. Christophe Rousset – La Badine (01:10)
1-18. Christophe Rousset – La Badine (Louis Marchand?) (01:19)
1-19. Christophe Rousset – “Souvent dans le plus doux sort” (01:41)
1-20. Christophe Rousset – La Polonaise (01:46)
1-21. Christophe Rousset – La Vénitienne (02:18)
