Charpentier: Orphée aux enfers

Featuring

Lionel Meunier
Philippe Froeliger
Reinoud Van Mechelen
Clara Coutouly
Deborah Cachet
Geoffroy Buffière

Raphael Höhn
Stefanie True
Victoria Cassano
Zsuzsi Tóth
A Nocte Temporis
Vox Luminis
Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Did you know?

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Composition History

The death of Superintendent Lully in 1687, the same year La Descente d'Orphée aux Enfers was first performed, finally allowed Charpentier access to the grand tragic form.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The Orpheus myth was as important for the birth of opera in France as it had been in Italy, with Luigi Rossi's L'Orfeo introduced to Paris in 1647.

Compositional Technique

Charpentier's Orphée descendant aux Enfers, H.471, is a dramatic scena for three characters, Orpheus, Ixion, and Tantalus, resembling a sacred oratorio by Carissimi.

Composer Biography

Charpentier, a singer himself, excelled in the haute-contre vocal range, which lends an elegiac timbre to the role of Orpheus.

Historical Context

Charpentier's dramatic ambitions were constrained by Jean-Baptiste Lully, who held a monopoly on opera and stage music in France from 1672.

Composition History

Marc-Antoine Charpentier composed two settings of the Orpheus myth, both featured on this album: Orphée descendant aux Enfers (1684) and La Descente d'Orphée aux Enfers (1686 or 1687).

Composition History

Charpentier's La Descente d'Orphée aux Enfers, H.488, was a 'miniature opera' performed privately for Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Guise, with Charpentier singing the part of Ixion.