Salve Regina by Campra . Couprin (Petits motets) / Agnew, Lasla, Les Arts Florissants, Christie

Andre Campra (Composer), Francois Couperin (Composer), William Christie (Conductor), Les Arts Florissants (Orchestra), Ruth Unger (Orchestra), Paul Agnew (Performer), Anne-Marie Lasla (Performer), Catherine Girard (Performer), Maia Silberstein (Performer), Charles Zebley (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Paul Agnew, Anne-Marie Lasla, Catherine Girard, Maia Silberstein, Charles Zebley
• Orchestra: Les Arts Florissants, Ruth Unger
• Conductor: William Christie
• Composer: Andre Campra, Francois Couperin
• Audio CD (May 10, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Classics
• ASIN: B0006IQM3U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,447 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's All About Paul, September 3, 2008

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Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Salve Regina by Campra . Couprin (Petits motets) / Agnew, Lasla, Les Arts Florissants, Christie (Audio CD)

Be careful, friends. I'm giving this CD a five-star rating because of the intrinsic merit of the music and of the musicianship of Les Arts Florissants, the most accomplished performers of French baroque music in the world. That said, I confess I have my doubts about whether most listeners will enjoy this recording unless they have the good sense to listen to the nine "petits motets" just one at a time. These are compositions for solo singer and continuo (provided here by organ and viol da gamba), though several of them also include obbligato parts for violin or flute. The soloist on all nine pieces is Paul Agnew. In all honesty, 72 minutes of the same voice is a challenge to my attention span, especially when all nine pieces are quite similar in affect. And I'm a big fan of French Baroque and of Paul Agnew!

Campra (1660-1744) and Couperin (1668-1733) were both 'tainted' in the eyes of their French rivals by their Italian connections and affinities. If you know the repertoire well, you'll hear that the rivals were correct - all the better! These pieces breathe spaciously, with a melodic lilt that separates them from those largely forgotten rivals. The whole tradition of Petits Motets, performed at Gallican 'low mass' and much favored by King Louis XIV, has Italian roots, both musically in the age of the Frenchest Italian of all, Lully, and politically via the influence of Cardinal Mazarin. Listening to this music, by the way, always sets me in my fencing slippers in the milieu of the Three Musketeers.

Paul Agnew enunciates French very clearly and emotively...for a Scot! Trained in Edinburgh, employed in his early singing career by the cream of English Early Music ensembles! Since the early '90s, however, Agnew has been the protege and favorite tenor of William Christie, and the only person besides Christie himself ever to conduct Les Arts Florissants. Agnew has become the embodiment of the French style in tenors, which emphasizes clarity of diction over clarity of tone, tasteful embellishment over virtuosity, affect over sonority. His voice has evolved precisely the fibrous, slightly nasal quality that makes French sound French. In other words, he has the perfect voice and technique for these little motets, with their tightly crafted rhetoric. I hope it doesn't imply disrespect to say that one can't listen to this performance straight through; on the contrary, such compositional art and such vocal skill deserve the respect of listening selectively.

We've been blessed recently with a swarm of releases and re-releases of great French sacred music, especially the Grands Motets (with chorus and orchestra) and Petits Motets of Lully, Campra, Couperin, Rameau, and others. The ensembles to look for are Le Concert Spirituel conducted by Herve Niquet, and above all Les Arts Florissants.