Customer Reviews

Tous Les Matins Du Monde

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This album is an updated reissue of a previous disc that was made in 1992. The sound is vastly improved over the original, and the bonus disc makes it an even more attractive package.

For those who may not be familiar with Savall, he has been a welcome fresh addition to early music recordings. His ensembles and orchestras are always characterized by extraordinary musicians. Indeed, in this marvelous album, the orchestra members are a virtual who's who in the field of currently famous early music musicians who have gone on to launch new groups or start solo careers. They include: Pierre Hantai on harpsichord, Rolf Lislevand on lute, Fabio Biondi (Europa Galante) on violin, and Christopher Coin (Quators Mosaiques) on cello.

Savall himself is an excellent conductor whose interpretations are fresh, articulate in detail, and always compelling. He has created a virtual new genre of early music using period instruments and uncovering hidden gems that have been overlooked by most conventional groups.

The music on this disc is very accessible and the album is a classic. It will appeal to both the experienced and inexperienced early music lovers as well as the uniniated who want to experience the joyous realm of music before Bach.

In addition to French Baroque being generally and wrongly relegated to secondary status compared to Italian or German Baroque, there are probably less than 200 professional players who specialize in the viola da gamba as an instrument which was used mostly by French Baroque composers. Out of those few 200 performers, Jordi Savall is the undisputed master of his craft not only in performing French Baroque but really any Baroque piece for the viola da gamba. This soundtrack is a fine example on the diversity and depth of not only the viola's range but on works of various composers during the French Baroque period: especially the works of Marais and Sainte-Colombe. This album is also a great sample of the simply exemplary talent of Jordi Savall as a violist.

The double album primarily contains solos or duets for viola da gamba by Marais and Sainte-Colombe but has pieces by other contemporaries such as Lully. This album is a great sample of the variety of works and composers of the unique French Baroque tradition that continued to use the viola while other musical styles in Europe had virtually abandoned it for the cello. The viola da gamba has a lot more range, depth, and resonance than the cello and so the music is moodier and more contemplative than cello works such as Bach's magnificent cello suites. Solo music for viola from the French Baroque also allows freer interpretation than conventional compositions for orchestra or other chamber pieces. The jewel in this album is Marais' haunting but divine Sonnerie de Ste-Genevieve in which the dynamics of the violas and violins are truly a spiritual voyage into one's soul; at points serenely docile to demonically ferocious as if phantasms both luring and forbidding the listener to follow. The intricate complexity and resonance of this exquisite piece makes it one of the most spiritually moving Baroque sonet variations I have ever heard and it's one of my personal favorites. Both Marais and Sainte-Colombe were probably the pinnacle of achievement in terms of expressive techniques for the viola da gamba during the French Baroque period while later contemporaries such as Forqueray and Couperin became more formulaic although no less accomplished.

Jordi Savall has many priceless performances apart from this soundtrack and he is really the only competent artist for both viola da gamba specifically and primarily all French Baroque interpretations. There are no other viola players who can even compare to Savall as they really sound as little else than amateurs in comparison to his applied skills and passion of playing. I strongly recommend for anyone looking for music for viola da gamba or really any French Baroque to buy Savall/Le Concert Des Nations' performances exclusively as there's simply nothing else to look for or find that's in his caliber. Apart from a few other performnances by groups such as Les Arts Florissants, I guarantee you that the performances of all others in this style will rise to no further than being mediocre at best such as Harncourt or even Koopman who often plays with Savall. Most other viola performers quickly descend to atrocious standards in comparison to those of Savall. Even though Savall's recordings tend to be on the more expensive side, he's worth every penny take my word for it: you won't regret it! What you will regret is having bought a mediocre viola peformance after you hear Savall's as the differences will be very significant.

This is a fantastic CD and all, but as of July '07, what they're shipping is not the "10 Years After" (Dix Ans Apres) version, which includes a bonus disc and has all 33 pieces listed on this page. I got a single 16-song disc, the same one I bought 3 or 4 years ago. Buyer beware.

This CD has been a favorite of mine since hearing a friend's copy of the original about 6 years ago . . . I adore the reissue & the bonus CD. Both are astounding. I agree with one of the previous reviewers who loved the organic sounds of the players' breaths & the bows on the strings. So very haunting, and so very human.

I was introduced to this utterly, utterly gorgeous soundtrack via a "friend of a friend", to whom I am eternally grateful. I listened to this on cassette tape too many times to count. The music is hauntingly beautiful and atmospheric, dark and moody, tragic and deep. This is music from the Baroque period but nothing like Bach, or Purcell, or Handel.

Whether or not you saw the movie, this is a beautiful recording. The playing is delicate, subtle and refined. The choice of repertoire is delightful.

Just one small flaw. Jordi Savall, like most performers, uses breathing to come into the first note of a phrase. Unfortunately, his breathing is audible and quite distracting on some tracks. I'm unsure whether this is due to him overbreathing or bad microphone placement/post-production technique, but either way it gets to me.

It's not enough to stop me listening though, because it really is superb playing.

I have the original 16-track version of this recording and couldn't agree more with the glowing comments left by others. However, this listing is somewhat misleading as the reviews mention that it is a newer release with a bonus disc containing 17 extra tracks. Since other reviews and the Alia Vox website itself mention that such a thing exists, I went ahead and ordered it, only to receive the same single disc version I already had. Amazon tells me the double one isn't available, so beware.

It's still great music though.

If ever there were a disc to save in case of global catastrophe, this should be one of them. How many recordings in classical music catalogs can be called both indispensible and popular? Certainly enough of them, but few in the early music genre can. The sensuous splendor of French Baroque music is well-represented in this disc that serves as both an anthology of the literature, and a soundtrack to the superb film of the same name. Jordi Saval, the gambist and director, is a first-rate musician, as are the other musicians featured on the disc. "Tous Les Matins du Monde," or "All the Mornings of the World," will convert the average Joe to a love of this kind of music. It is a "must-have."

First of all, the remasterization of this album has greatly improved the sound quality versus the original edition, and along with a better recording you get a bonus disc that contains some real gems on it...in particular, Marais' Les Voix Humaines for solo viola da gamba is stunningly beautiful.

Jordi Savall's performances have a clarity and refinement unsurpassed by any period orchestra, and perhaps by any modern orchestra as well. However, it is not merely in expressive playing that he and his ensembles shine: his dance movements are the absolute best I have heard, bar none. Nobody else brings out the character of the French Baroque dances than he does, and his performances give this 300-year-old music a youthfulness and exuberance that make it seem like it was written only yesterday. The solo bass viol pieces are filled with a unique blend of romantic passion and refined restraint...and you can tell at once that Jordi Savall is a master player.

The performance of the Sonnerie by Marais is stunning, as well as the orchestral movements by Lully and Marais on the bonus disc, and there is a recording of the complete Folia variations by Marais on the bonus disc as well. Treat yourself to a wonderful experience, and open new musical doors for yourself, and buy this wonderful collection as soon as you can.

I saw the film and was enthralled by the portrayals of Sainte Colombe and Marin Marais. (Depardu was superb as always.) Some reviewers thought the film dull or tedious. I suppose in today's film culture where there is so much action without much substance there are those who would concur. I thought is was an excellent study of the characters and the music, which is rarity even in films about musicians.