Marais: Sémélé (complete opera)
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MARIN MARAIS
Marais: Sémélé (complete opera)
Shannon Mercer, Benedicte Tauran, Jael Azzaretti, Hjordis Thebault, etc / Le Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet
[ Glossa / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Saturday 10 March 2018
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For this 2007 recording with Le Concert Spirituel which we now reissue with a new presentation, Hervé Niquet revived Sémélé by Marin Marais. Known above all for his compositions for the viola da gamba, Marais the composer was at the same time the author of a number of tragedies lyriques which he wrote for the Academie royale de Musique. Sémélé, first performed in 1709, is the final opera by one of the leading composers from the reign of Louis XIV and contains a sparkling prologue honouring Bacchus, a set of arias with a freshly-minted appeal, a marvellously inventive diabolical scene, divertissements rich in character; all this leading up to an earthquake scene memorably anticipating the later work of Rameau. For all lovers of glorious Baroque music, here is now the opportunity to re-discover and enjoy a masterpiece which had lain in the shadows for three centuries.
"It's full of arresting, colourful music, much of it - not least the thrillingly vivid closing earthquake scene - worthy of Rameau, writing three decades on." (Sunday Times)
"This may not be Marais's masterpiece but it's lovingly coaxed back into life by Hervé Niquet. And if there's more drama in the music than the libretto, singers and players give it their all." BBC Music
