Orphée descendant aux enfers

Description

This program proposed by Gérard Lesne consists of unpublished or unavailable pieces on record. These secular works find their musical originality both in the mastery of French declamation (Racine and other gallant poetry from the 17th century), the harmonic richness borrowed from Italy, and the personal character of these pieces where Charpentier expresses himself in the first person.
Since David et Jonathas with Les Arts Florissants, Gérard Lesne has developed an affinity with the haute-contre parts of M.-A. Charpentier, illustrated by the Trois Histoires Sacrées and the complete Leçons des Ténèbres. He confided: Charpentier surely possessed a type of voice identical to mine: explosive as it was immediately tuned to the high notes.
He delivers here a Charpentier that is inhabited and sensitive, and skillfully surrounded by the team of Il Seminario Musicale and Blandine Rannou.