Lully, Charpentier & Desmarets: Passion

Featuring

Véronique Gens
Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas
Ensemble Les Surprises
Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles
Jean-Baptiste Lully
Pascal Collasse

Henry Desmarest
Marc-Antoine Charpentier

Did you know?

1/7

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in November 2020 at L'Arsenal Cité Musicale - Metz, a venue known for its beautiful acoustics and atmosphere.

Composition History

The program explores the period when Jean-Baptiste Lully dominated French opera, and how composers previously overshadowed by him, like Collasse and Desmarets, gained recognition after his death.

Historical Context

French Baroque music, which flourished across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, fell into obscurity after the French Revolution and was only revived in the 1980s.

Album & Artwork

The album is conceived as an "imaginary opera" featuring three characters in dialogue: Véronique Gens, the ensemble Les Surprises, and the chorus Les Chantres du CMBV.

Performer Biography

Les Chantres du Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles is a choir modeled on the vocal forces of the Chapelle Royale during the reign of Louis XIV, combining children's and adult voices.

Performer Biography

Véronique Gens, the soprano on this album, is recognized as one of the finest interpreters of Mozart and the French repertoire, having dominated the Baroque scene for over a decade.

Performer Biography

Ensemble Les Surprises, a baroque ensemble, was founded in 2010 by viol player Juliette Guignard and organist/harpsichordist Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, who is also the artistic director.