Le Concert Royal de la Nuit: Louis XIV 1715-2015 Celebration [Special Edition]
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JEAN de CAMBEFORT / FRANCESCO CAVALLI / ANTOINE BOESSET / ANONYMOUS
Le Concert Royal de la Nuit: Louis XIV 1715-2015 Celebration [Special Edition]
Ensemble Correspondances, Sébastien Daucé
[ Harmonia Mundi CDs plus Book / 2 CD/Book ]
Release Date: Friday 20 November 2015
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In late February 1653, just after the Fronde rebellion, the most influential spectacle of the early reign of Louis XIV was created at the Louvre: the Ballet Royal de la Nuit. Grandiose, and carefully elaborated at the highest levels of the state, the libretto by Bensérade called upon the finest artists of the time. Banishing the troubles of Night, Louis XIV danced in the Sun King costume that would henceforth be for ever associated with him. An indispensable world premiere recording!
"It's obviously been a labour of love for [Dauce], reconstructing what he can of the various ballets from disparate sources, texts and composers, re-writing and re-composing the music where necessary...Highly conjectural of course but the lavish texts and illustrations in the book that surrounds these two CDs helps create context and bring the dawn of the Sun King to life." (CD Review)
"Daucé invokes the privilege of creative licence with the interpolation of numerous extracts from operas by Italians invited to Paris by Cardinal Mazarin during the early years of the Sun King's reign... A rotating team of up to 52 musicians traverse the musical spectrum from whispered intimacy to jovial ceremony." (Gramophone Award Nomination 2016 - Baroque Vocal)
"Harmonia Mundi also get a special gold star for their presentation, which is on the level of Jordi Savall's special projects for Alia Vox. The two CDs are enclosed within a hardback book which contains a series of top-notch historical essays (in several languages, including English), together with musicological notes, a detailed run-down of the scenario and many illustrations, both of the scene of the ballet and of the contemporary royal court. You also get the full sung texts with translations. So this release is a welcome piece of musical archaeology that brings back from the dead one of the most famous ballet sequences of the ancien régime whose details had, nevertheless, been long forgotten. Both fascinating and compelling, this is a release of equal musical and historical worth." (MusicWeb Feb 2016)
"Some of the music for 'La Nuit' is genuinely atmospheric and is sung with sustained tone and exquisite ornamentation by Lucile Richardot … The instrumental accompaniment is unfailingly funny attentive and often thrilling in this sumptuously presented, excellently recorded glimpse into the French court ballet before Lully became the dominant figure." (BBC Music)
