Rameau - Les Indes galantes / Les Arts Florissants, Christie [Import]

Jean-Philippe Rameau (Composer), William Christie (Conductor), Les Arts Florissants (Orchestra), Claron McFadden (Performer), Sandrine Piau (Performer), Isabelle Poulenard (Performer), Howard Crook (Performer), Jean-Paul Fouchecourt (Performer), Nicolas Rivenq (Performer), Jerome Correas (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Claron McFadden, Sandrine Piau, Isabelle Poulenard, Howard Crook, Jean-Paul Fouchecourt, et al.
• Orchestra: Les Arts Florissants
• Conductor: William Christie
• Composer: Jean-Philippe Rameau
• Audio CD (December 9, 1992)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi Fr.
• ASIN: B000027O75
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,843 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Prologue: Ov - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

2. Prologue Scene 1: Air 'Vous, Qui D' Hebe' - Claron McFadden

3. Prologue Scene 2: Entree Des 4 Nations - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

4. Prologue Scene 2: Air 'Amants Surs De Plaire' - Claron McFadden

5. Prologue Scene 2: Air Grave Pour Les Polonais - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

6. Prologue Scene 2: Menuets I & II - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Deuxieme Entree. Les Incas Du Perou, Scene 1 - Isabelle Poulenard/Jean-Paul Fouchecourt

2. Deuxieme Entree. Les Incas Du Perou, Scene 2: Air 'Viens, Hymen' - Isabelle Poulenard

3. Deuxieme Entree. Les Incas Du Perou, Scene 3/Scene 4/Scene 5: Fete Du Soleil - Isabelle Poulenard/Bernard Deletre

4. Deuxieme Entree. Les Incas Du Perou, Scene 5: Air 'Soleil, On A Detruit' - Bernard Deletre/Isabelle Poulenard

5. Deuxieme Entree. Les Incas Du Perou, Scene 5: Prld Pour L'Adoration Du Soleil - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

6. Deuxieme Entree. Les Incas Du Perou, Scene 5: Air Et Choeur 'Brillant Soleil' - Bernard Deletre/Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Troisieme Entree. Les Fleurs, Fete Persane, Scene 8: Ballet Des Fleurs/Airs Pour Les Fleurs I &... - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

2. Troisieme Entree. Les Fleurs, Fete Persane, Scene 8: Airs Pour Zephire I & II/ Air Pour Les... - Les Arts Florissants/Willam Christie

3. Nouvelle Entree. Les Sauvages, Scene 1: Air 'Rivaux De Mes Exploits' - Nicolas Rivenq

4. Nouvelle Entree. Les Sauvages, Scene 2: Air 'L'Inconstance Ne Doit Blesser'/Scene 3: Air 'Nous... - Howard Crook/Bernard Deletre/Claron McFadden

5. Nouvelle Entree. Les Sauvages, Scene 3: Air 'La Terre, Les Cieux Et Les Mers'/Air 'Le Coeur... - Claron McFadden

6. Nouvelle Entree. Les Sauvages, Scene 3: Air L'Habitant Des Bords De La Seine' - Bernard Deletre/Howard Crook/Claron McFadden/Nicolas Rivenq

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and entertaining, March 12, 1999

By A Customer

The music of Les Indes Galantes is absolutely beautiful, although the libretto is a bit under par. The plot of the opera consists of a prologue (predictably, with a cupid), followed by four discrete scenes. Each of these scenes is dealing with characters who, in the view of a medieval Frenchman, were exotic and even "savage." In the sequence of appearance, these include Turks, Peruvian Incas, Persians and the American Indians (the latter are referred to merely as "savages" but the geographic location gives some idea as to who they are). The stories are implausible, but they were not intended to be taken literally; rather, they were intended as something of an esopian fable, illustrating the victory of love over force and discord. The best known scene in the opera is the Festival of the Sun in the second Entree, with the famous aria of Huascar (sung by Bernard Deletre). There are recordings of this aria by various operatic greats such as Gerard Souzay, but Deletre's version is really definitive. It is hard to even take some of the earlier recordings seriously in light of everything we now know about the authentic baroque practice. Christie is in the forefront of the movement toward historically informed period performances of baroque. As a result, his recordings are almost invariably the best. Everyone should get acquainted with Christie's work. I can't think of any other conductor who would be as capable of capturing your heart and turning you into a baroque afficionado as William Christie. If you are a novice, reluctant to spend money on unfamiliar music, there is a collection entitled "The most beautiful scenes of baroque opera," which may be a cheap way for you to "test waters." That collection contains, among other things, several excerpts from Christie's recordings, including a duet "Forets paisibles" from the 4th Entree of Les Indes Galantes.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Baroque opera and full of fun, November 3, 2005

By 

Steven Guy (Croydon, South Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rameau - Les Indes galantes / Les Arts Florissants, Christie (Audio CD)

I cannot speak too highly of this magnificent recording of one of Jean-Philippe Rameau's most delightful operas.

The music is gorgeous and full of rhythm and colour and the singing in this performance is excellent. Many seasoned Baroque performers appear on this disc - Sandrine Piau, Isabelle Poulenard, Howard Crook, Jean-Paul Fouchécourt, Bernard Delétré, Claron McFadden, Nicolas Rivenq and Noémi Rime. Christophe Rousset plays the harpsichord continuo - he had not yet made a career for himself as a conductor at this time.

Les Arts Florissants, directed by William Christie, are in top form on this recording, which I believe is one of the highlights of Christie's career.

I bought this recording when it came out in 1991 and I have loved it ever since.

The Les Arts Florissants / William Christie DVD of this opera is well worth investigating, too. However, this original recording is enchanting.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not an unstructured work..., January 1, 2008

By 

E. Lyons (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rameau - Les Indes galantes / Les Arts Florissants, Christie (Audio CD)

I agree with all the other reviewers overwhelmingly positive comments about this set, but I just wanted to object to the pervasive opinion that the libretto is somewhat unstructured and only unified by the idea of the triumph of love: modern scholarship actually sees each of the four acts as reflecting the four main types of French baroque theatre prevalent in Rameau's day--i.e. sentimental melodrama (act 1), tragedy (act 2), comedy (act 3), and the idyllic pastoral (act 4).

This is a wonderful opera on many levels, and while I have a few (minor) problems with the DVD that is available, I have none about this set. Another masterpiece from Christie.