Une Nouvelle Fete Baroque

CD1

1. RAMEAU: Naïs RCT 49: Ouverture
2. RAMEAU: Dardanus RCT 35 (Acte I, Scène 3 [1739]); 2e Rigaudon – Trio – Chœur des Guerriers Phrygiens: “Guerriers, suivez l'amour”    
3. RAMEAU: Dardanus RCT 35 (Acte I, Scène 3[1744]); Air de triomphe – Quatuor avec chœur: “Il est temps de courir aux armes”    
4. RAMEAU: Dardanus RCT 35 (Entr’acte II–III[1739]); Bruit de guerre
5. RAMEAU: Dardanus RCT 35 (Acte IV, Scène 1[1744]); Air: “Lieux funestes”     
6. RAMEAU: Les Indes galantes RCT 44 (Entrée I “Le Turc généreux”, Scène 2); Récit & air: “La nuit couvre les Cieux…Vaste empire des mers”
7. RAMEAU: Les Indes galantes RCT 44(Entrée II “Les Incas du Pérou”, Scène 2); Air: “Viens Hymen”
8. CAMPRA: Idoménée (Acte II, Scène 7-8); Air: “Vous, des tendres amours”; (Acte II, Scène 8); Duo: “Nous obéissons à ta voix” –  Chœur: “Signalons notre barbarie”; Air: « D’un amour qui s’éteint » – 2e Air; Choeur: “Que les soupçons, que les alarmes » – Récit : « au coeur d’Idoménée »
9. RAMEAU: Hippolyte et Aricie RCT 43 (1733) (Acte III, Scènes 8-9) Récit "Pour l'auteur de mes jours"; Récit & air: “Quels biens!…Puissant maître des flots”; Récit: “Hippolyte m’a fait le plus sanglant outrage…” –; Frémissement des flots & air: “Mais de courroux l’onde s’agite”   
10. RAMEAU: Castor et Pollux RCT 32 (1737) (Acte V, Scène 7); Ariette: “Brillez astres nouveaux”
11. RAMEAU: Dardanus RCT 35 (1739) (Acte IV, Scène 3); Récit & air: “Voici les tristes lieux…Monstre affreux”
12. CAMPRA: Idoménée (Acte IV, Scène 4); Air avec chœur: “Ô Neptune, reçois nos vœux”       
13. CAMPRA: Idoménée (Acte III, Scène 6); Marche – Chœur des crétois et des matelots: “Embarquons-nous” – Rigaudon I – Rigaudon II
14. PURCELL: Dido and Aeneas Z.626 (Act III, Scene 2); Recitative & aria: “Thy hand, Belinda…When I am laid in Earth”    
15. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Ouverture
16. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Menuet
17. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Allegro
18. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Rondeau vif
19. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Gavottes vives
20. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Contredanse en rondeau
21. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Air andante et gracieux pour Orithie et ses compagnes
22. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Entracte, suite des vents
23. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Entrée de Polymnie
24. RAMEAU: Les Boréades RCT 31: Suite pour orchestre - Contredanses vives

CD2

1. PURCELL: The Fairy-Queen Z.629 (Act IV, No.31) - Solo & chorus: “Now the night”        
2. HANDEL: Tamerlano HWV 18 (Atto III, Scena 3) - Aria: “A dispetto d’un volto ingrato”  
3. HANDEL: Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV 46a (Parte I) - Aria: “Urne voi”
4. VIVALDI: Juditha triumphans devicta Holofernis barbarie RV 644 (Pars II) - Aria: “Armatae face et angibus”          
5. HANDEL: Aci, Galatea e Polifemo HWV 72 - Aria: “Fra l’ombre e gl’orrori”      
6. HANDEL: Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV 46a (Parte I)  -Aria: “Un pensiero nemico di pace”     
7. HANDEL: Alcina HWV 34: (Atto III, Scena 1) - Recitativo & aria: “M'inganna, me n'avveggo…Un momento di contento” 
8. HANDEL: Alcina HWV 34: (Atto II, Scena 13) - Recitativo & aria: “Ah! Ruggiero crudel…Ombre pallide”       
9. HANDEL: Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV 46a (Parte II) - Recitativo & aria: "E un ostinato errore…È ben folle quel nocchier”    
10. HANDEL: Theodora HWV 68 (Act II, Scene 2) - Recitative & aria: “O though, bright Sun…With darkness deep as is my woe”       
11. HANDEL: Giulio Cesare in Egitto HWV 17 (Atto II, Scena 11) - Aria: “L’aure che spira”        
12. HANDEL: Ariodante HWV 33 (Act I, Scene 10) - Aria: “Del mio sol vezzosi rai”          
13. HANDEL: Rinaldo HWV 7a (Act II, Scene 8) - Recitativo accompagnato & aria: "Dunque i lacci d'un volto"…Ah! crudel il pianto mio”   
14. HANDEL: Rinaldo HWV 7a (Act I, Scene 3) - Aria: “Sibilar gli angui d’Aletto”                             
15. HANDEL: Poro, re dell’Indie HWV 28 (Act II, Scene 2) - Duetto: “Caro/Dolce amico amplesso”         
16. HANDEL: Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV 46a (Parte II) - Quartetto: “Voglio Tempo per risolvere”
17. HANDEL: Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno HWV 46a (Parte II) - Aria: “Tu del ciel ministro eletto”

In November 2021, Emmanuelle Haïm led two celebratory charity concerts – one in Berlin, the other in her home city of Paris – to mark 20 years of her ensemble Le Concert d’Astrée.  The music, mostly from operas, was by Handel, Rameau, Purcell, Vivaldi and Campra, and the spectacular line-up of more than 20 vocal soloists included sopranos Natalie Dessay, Sabine Devieilhe, Emőke Baráth and Sandrine Piau, mezzo-soprano Lea Desandre, tenors Michael Spyres and Rolando Villazón, bass-baritone Laurent Naouri, and bass Andrea Mastroni. In Berlin, a distinguished guest conducted 10 numbers from Rameau’s Les Boréades Sir Simon Rattle. The concerts can now be experienced, recorded live, on this 2CD set.

At the beginning of the new millennium, as an experienced harpsichordist and emerging conductor, Emmanuelle Haïm founded Le Concert d’Astrée to perform baroque repertoire. The ensemble gave its first concert in 2001 and in 2002 released its first CD (on the Virgin Classics label, a predecessor of today’s Erato). This was a collection of vocal duets by Handel – a composer especially close to Emmanuelle Haïm’s heart – with Natalie Dessay among the soloists. Gramophone welcomed a “brilliant conductor” in “a most welcome debut … boasting superb singers in an attractive programme”.

Simon Rattle, like William Christie, Christophe Rousset, René Jacobs and Marc Minkowski, acted as a mentor to Haïm as she expanded her activities from continuo playing to conducting. Over the past 20 years her focus has remained on the baroque repertoire, but she has now conducted many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Symphony, New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia orchestras.

Haïm’s entire approach to conducting is shaped by the way she works with Le Concert d’Astrée. “I like collaboration,” she says, “and in baroque music the role of the director is more inside the orchestra playing an instrument (in my case the harpsichord or the organ) and sharing with the other players, being part of the music yourself. In Le Concert d’Astrée everyone talks very freely and it’s not only me who says what to do. It’s more like a mixture of orchestral music and chamber music.”

She explains that, from very early in her musical career, “I didn’t want to be alone, I wanted to be in a group, be in an orchestra! I liked that baroque music doesn’t really say on the page what it should be like, that there are little unwritten beauties that you have to grab from the special language of the music itself, to come up with the answers yourself and play freely. I loved the baroque theatrical world, and I loved the sounds the instruments made as well.”

When it comes to the musical personality of Le Concert d’Astrée, she says that: “Right from the beginning I wanted our sound to be substantial and full-bodied … Handel needs an orchestra that has an appetite for life, that has fire, generosity and passion … I like richness and colour. I like to embody meaning in sound without out ever losing the narrative thread. … We are lucky to be making music, and it is wonderful to be able to share this joy with an audience. 20 years of existence and 20 years of success merits some joyful celebration!”