GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel Arias Danielle de Niese (soprano) / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Decca / CD - released 3/Oct/2007 ] 'Not just a superb performer, but a phenomenal one' Opera News. |
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Rameau: Platée Genia KAhmeier, Toby Spence, Dietrich Henschel, Sophie KarthANuser, Markus Werba / Les Arts Florissants / William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 29/Oct/2021 ] A marsh nymph thinks she is so irresistible that Jupiter himself will take an interest in her . . . Brimming with exceptional dramatic and musical verve, this strangely under-recorded 'ballet bouffon' offers us Rameau's art in a nutshell: glittering... |
MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER
Charpentier: A Christmas oratorio (Un Oratorio de Noel) Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 5/Nov/2021 ] Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed some of the most important works of seventeenth-century French music on the subject of the Nativity and its tutelary figure, the Virgin Mary, from dramatic oratorios in Latin to secular cantatas in the vernacular.... |
JEAN-BAPTISTE LULLY
Lully: Atys (Complete opera recorded in 1987) Guy de Mey, Guillemette Laurens, Agnes Mellon / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD/Book - released 27/Sep/2019 ] "The stateliest of Lully's operas, Atys is given an exceptionally handsome performance here. When it first appeared in 1987 this was a landmark recording. It remains a performance to treasure." BBC Music Magazine, December 2009 |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
N'espérez plus mes yeux… Airs sérieux & à boire Vol.3 Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 30/Apr/2021 ] With this third volume of Airs sérieux et à boire, the ensemble Les Arts Florissants return to this genre whose refinement had marked the French musical landscape for over a hundred years. By turns gallant, earthy, or spiritual, these vocal... |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Un Jardin A L'italienne: Airs, cantatas & madrigals Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 8/Sep/2017 ] This concert was recorded live at the Melbourne Recital Centre in Australia within the framework of Le Jardin des Voix: the Academy launched by Les Arts Florissants in 2002 as a showcase for young talent. . |
JOSEPH HAYDN
Haydn: Paris Symphonies & Violin Concerto No. 1 Théotime Langlois de Swarte (violin) / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 15/Sep/2023 ] "Christie's enthusiasm for the symphonies is never in doubt, but he can be curiously down to earth at times." BBC Music |
MASON BATES
Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (complete opera) Edwards Parks, Garrett Sorenson, Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones / Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Michael Christie [ Pentatone SACD / 2 Hybrid SACD - released 25/Feb/2019 ] |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Princess Ida Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Frank Gorshin, Nan Christie, Laurence Dale, Anne Collins & others [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] Music by the London Symphony Orchestra, the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and a host of stars including Frank Gorshin, Bernard Dickerson, Anne Collins and Claire Powell. 114 minutes. For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to... |
GILBERT and SULLIVAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gilbert & Sullivan: Patience & The Sorcerer [2 DVDs] Ambrosian Opera Chorus with Sandra Dugdale, Donald Adams, Derek Hammond-Stroud, John Fryatt, Clive Revill, David Kernan & Nana Christie [ BBC / Umbrella DVD / DVD - released 10/Aug/2014 ] For more than 100 years the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan have played to packed audiences around the world. These two names have become synonymous with classic light opera - music that is timeless and tuneful lyrics that are witty, scathing and memorable. |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (Complete oratorio) Andreas Scholl, Barbara Schlick, Sandrine Piau, Mark Padmore, Nathan Berg / Les Arts Florissants / William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 6/Dec/2019 ] |
CAVALLI
Cavalli: La Didone (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Anna Bonitatibus, Kresimir Spicer, Xavier Sabata, Maria Streijffert / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie (cond.) & Clément Hervieu-Léger (dir.) [ Opus Arte Bluray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "Christie's direction can almost be taken to guarantee a fine performance and that's the case here...If you wish to have only one Cavalli recording in your collection, this would vie strongly for that honour" MusicWeb International, October 2012 |
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU / MARC-ANTONIE CHARPENTIER / MICHEL LAMBERT
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Anne Sofie von Otter - Ombre de Mon Amant: French Baroque Arias Anne Sofie von Otter (mezzo) / Chœur et orchestre Les Arts florissants, William Christie [ Deutsche Grammophon Archiv / CD - released 25/Jan/2010 ] "Von Otter sounds utterly wretched in Medea's lament for her lost love; then she intensifies her tone as she summons up demons and monsters...[she] conveys Phaedra's various emotions with consummate ease." Gramophone Awards 2010 Finalist - Recital |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Serse (Opera in Three Acts) Anne Sofie von Otter, Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, Sandrine Piau / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie, director [ Virgin Classics / 3 CD Box Set - released 25/Feb/2011 ] 1001 Classical recordings to hear before you die (1700-1760) - "Christie masterminds an entertaining performance … This recording captures a theatrical flow and affectionate atmosphere that is deeply satisfying" (Gramophone) |
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Ed Lyon, Christiane Karg, Sarah Connolly / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, William Christie (conductor) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2014 ] "Christie lavishes his love and skill on a score whose splendours keep on growing over the show's three hours." (Times) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Giulio Cesare (complete opera recorded in 2005) Glyndebourne Opera / Sarah Connolly, Angelika Kirchschlager, Danielle de Niese. Christophe Dumaux, Christopher Maltman / William Christie (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD - released 18/Jul/2006 ] Gramophone Magazine Award Finalist 2006: DVD - 'Christie conducts Handel beguilingly - in fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that nobody does Handel better.' (Opera) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Giulio Cesare (complete opera recorded in 2005) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Sarah Connolly / Angelika Kirchschlager / Danielle de Niese / Christophe Dumaux / Christopher Maltman / William Christie (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2009 ] G - "The sense of teamwork all round is confirmed in the interviews included in the extras. Robin Lough's DVD direction is faultless." (Gramophoen Classical Music Guide) |
GEORG FREDERIC HANDEL
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Handel: Violin Sonatas Hiro Kurosaki (violin), William Christie (harpsichord, organ) [ Virgin Classics Premium / CD - released 10/Feb/2011 ] "Period playing at its warmest and most lyrical...Naturalness and sophistication rule the day" (BBC Music Magazine) |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Mass in B minor, BWV232 [recorded live in 2016] Katherine Watson (soprano), Tim Mead (countertenor), Reinoud Van Mechelen (tenor) & André Morsch (baritone) / Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 10/Apr/2018 ] "At first the approach seems almost too light-toned and ethereal, but soon the intimacy of these modest forces takes an ineluctable grip. Textures are clear, tempi brisk - the Sanctus positively skips." The Observer |
MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER
Charpentier: Médée Les Arts Florissants, William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 3 CD/Book - released 27/Sep/2019 ] Following the success of his biblical opera David et Jonathas, written for a Jesuit college, Louis-le-Grand, Charpentier produced Médée for the Royal Academy of Music, his one and only sublime example of the "tragédie lyrique" to reach the... |