Alexis Kossenko / Anna Reinhold / Emmanuel Olivier SOIR PAÏEN

                                                                      SOIR PAÏEN

Katherine Watson, Les Ambassadeurs, Alexis Kossenko L'OPÉRA DU ROI SOLEIL

Built around the young soprano Katherine Watson and suggested by the conductor and flutist Alexis Kossenko, supported by the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, this operatic program revives the splendor of Versailles.

Blending operatic airs and instrumental pieces, this baroque collection offers a selection of the major works of the Sun King’s court, from André Campra to Marin Marais, but rediscovers as well several long-forgotten works from this period, as Louis de Lully’s opera Orphée.

It also allows us to glimpse into the dramatic power of the rôles tendres, that mostly suit to women in love, leading roles of the tragédie lyrique, and for which Katherine Watson proves to be the ideal interpreter. The smoothness of her timbre and the clarity of the orchestra, under Alexis Kossenko’s sure direction, reveal all the treasures of these French airs that explore the depths of the human soul.

Often exposed to torments, victims of the avarice of the gods, suffering from love and cruelty, the heroines of the tragédie lyrique nevertheless embody tragic beauty and majesty.

Sabine Devieilhe RAMEAU Le Grand Théâtre De L'Amour

My connection with the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau dates back five years. I had just sung Aricie’s famous ‘Rossignols amoureux’ in a student concert at the conservatory when Alexis tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I would like to take part in a performance project involving the composer in whom he specialised. Alexis is well known as a flautist, a young conductor and musicologist and has done research which really brings to light the astonishing range of Rameau’s work. 

This programme is conceived along the lines of a small-scale opera, giving me a broad range of colours to choose from and highly demanding instru- mentation with which to work in the dramatic role of tearful lover. I can’t thank Alexis and Les Ambassadeurs enough for having seen the project through and for giving all their energy and musical creativity in the service of this recording. (Sabine Devieilhe)

The operas of Jean-Philippe Rameau, vast spectacles, may be lost to history in their original forms. Sure, some of them have been produced in the modern era, but no company could muster the combination of singers, instrumentalists, choreography, and costume and scene design that would have accompanied the originals. The closest might be this release by French soprano Sabine Devieilhe, which is a thrill from start to finish. The album simply has it all. Devieilhe's voice is a knockout, and a deceptive one at that: it comes in as a flutelike thing in the mid-range but then scores with an agile top that seems absolutely undaunted by acrobatic vocal writing. The work of the historical-instrument orchestra Les Ambassadeurs under Alexis Kossenko is technically superb and dramatically sharp; they convey the feeling of playing for real theatergoers. The music covers selections from some operas with hugely ambitious themes, and there are three world-premiere recordings. Sample the storm aria from Les Indes Galantes (The Gallant Indians), track 17, with its wind machine and its colorful vocal canvas, for a taste of an immensely satisfying recital by a new face on the scene who makes you wonder just how far she'll eventually go. (James Manheim)

Christian-Pierre La Marca CANTUS

The originality of this album’s programme is its focus on famous sacred pieces transcribed for the warm and lyrical voice of the cello, an instrument whose tone is certainly one of the closest to the singing voice. The words of the Magnificat, Requiem, Stabat Mater or Ave Maria - well known in the repertoire of vocal sacred music - fade here to better reveal the development of musical emotion aroused by the melody itself, and the subtlety of the accompaniments (organ, viola, theorbo, voice) in reinforcing and supporting the expressiveness of the singing. Inspired by sacred texts, the melodies by Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Pergolesi reveal the strength and intensity of their expression, even without words, and reinforce the idea developed from the late eighteenth century that music, by its power of suggestion and evocation, goes beyond words to express the unspeakable, sometimes with simplicity and depth. From Taverner to Thierry Escaich, and also Allegri, Handel, Franck and Fauré, the recorded repertoire covers a period from the sixteenth to twenty-first century and includes some of the most important names in sacred music. (Presto Classical)

Christian-Pierre La Marca / Les Ambassadeurs / Alexis Kossenko CANTUS

If you are going to substitute the singing voice for an instrument what do you get? The warm and lyrical voice of the cello of course!

Christian-Pierre La Marca’s Cantus ticks all boxes when it comes to originality, having interpreted famous sacred pieces into a single-instruments voice - the cello. What is left is an understanding of the musical emotion displayed in these famous pieces, with his repertoire including the titles Mass, Stabat Mater and Agnus Dei.

Tackling on classics by Mozart, Bach and Pergolesi is a stupendous task, however Christian-Pierre successfully reveals the intensity of these melodies. In turn his album acts as a message, reinforcing the eighteenth century idea that music, by its power of proposition and submission, goes beyond words to express the unspeakable, often with clarity and extent.

If you admire the organ, viola and theorbo of sacred music than Cantus is for you, with Christian-Pierre’s repertoire covering the most important names in sacred music from the sixteenth to twenty-first century. Although you will not find me listening to Cantus I can still very much appreciate the depth of artistic expression and understanding that has gone into this album. (Taylor  Woodward)

Blandine Staskiewicz / Les Ambassadeurs / Alexis Kossenko TEMPESTA

Never judge a book by its cover. Mind you, the faux tattoos on Blandine Staskiewicz’s bare shoulders proclaiming ‘Tempesta – Handel & Vivaldi’ make one of the cringeworthiest album covers I’ve seen in a long while (perhaps the lack of available skin explains why Pergolesi and Porpora aren’t mentioned). Quite apart from that, does the world really need yet another ‘Ombra mai fù’? Once past the outward impression, you hear Alexis Kossenko and his orchestra Les Ambassadeurs offering superb value as always. ‘Spesso di nubi cinto’ from Porpora’s Carlo il Calvo launches proceedings thrillingly, with imaginative orchestral phrasing allied to Staskiewicz’s impressively precise and limpidly shaped coloratura, and there’s more virtuoso volatility in ‘Torbido in volto’ from Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria.

Staskiewicz sensibly alternates these stormy arias with a judicious assortment of slow ones; there is gentler melodic sensitivity during Vivaldi’s ‘Sovvente il sole’ from the pasticcio Andromeda liberata, in which vocal serenity is complemented sympathetically by solo violinist Zefira Valova (who applies a few surprising chromatic embellishments fleetingly). A self-indulgently luxuriant ‘Ombra mai fù’ almost justifies its existence between the charismatic liveliness of ‘Brilla nell’alma’ from Handel’s Alessandro and the lively rustic wittiness of ‘Io son fra l’onde’ from Vivaldi’s La verità in cimento (which features Kossenko’s vivacious piccolo obbligato). The tormented soliloquy ‘Pensieri’ from Handel’s Agrippina and the lovely cavatina ‘Quando mai spietata sorte’ from Radamisto both feature Gilles Vanssons’s poignant oboe-playing. I do not always sense tangible engagement with dramatic characterisations, but the nuanced vibrancy from Staskiewicz and Les Ambassadeurs in the tempestuous ‘Siam navi all’onde algenti’ from Vivaldi’s Olimpiade is irresistible. (Gramophone)