DIDO & AENEAS Henry Purcell
Le Concert Spirituel Hervé Niquet
GCD 921601
—
Performing artists
Le Concert Spirituel Hervé Niquet, direction
Dido & Sorceress: Laura Pudwell Aeneas: Peter Harvey Belinda & First Witch: Salomé Haller Second Woman & Second Witch: Marie-Louise Duthoit The Sailor: Nicolas Maire The Spirit: Matthew White
Production details
Playing time: 49’11 Recorded at Église Notre Dame du Liban, Paris, in May 2000 Engineered by Manuel Mohino Produced by Dominique Daigremont and Hervé Niquet Executive producer: Carlos Céster Editorial assistant: María Díaz Booklet essay: Jean-Yves Patte Booklet in English-Français-Deutsch-Español
Buy this product
HENRY PURCELL (1659-1695)
Dido and Aeneas
1 Overture 1:51
ACT I
Scene the Palace2 Shake the cloud from off your brow (Belinda) 3 Ah! Belinda (Dido) 4 Whence could so much virtue spring 5 See, your royal guest appears (Belinda) 6 If not for mine (Aeneas) 7 To the hills and the vales (Chorus)
ACT II
Scene the Cave8 Prelude for the Witches. Wayward sisters (Sorceress) 9 But ere we this perform (Witches) 10 In our deep-vaulted cell (Chorus)
Scene the Grove 11 Ritornelle. Thanks to these lonesome vales (Belinda) 12 Oft she visits (Second Woman) 13 Behold, upon my bending spear (Aeneas) 14 Stay, Prince (Spirit)
ACT III
Scene the Ships 15 Prelude. Come away, fellow sailors (First Sailor) 16 See the flags (Sorceress)17 The Witches’ Dance
Scene the Palace 18 Your counsel all is urg’d in vain (Dido) 19 Great minds (Chorus) 20 Thy hand, Belinda (Dido)21 With drooping wings (Chorus)
Hervé Niquet is far less interested in being known as a Baroque music specialist than for his passionate interest in all of French music, especially its vocal and lyrical compositions and nowadays he is as liable to be found directing a symphony orchestra as his own period instrument ensemble Le Concert Spirituel. It may come, for some, as a surprise to find Niquet teaming up with the Brussels Philharmonic to record Debussy but this future release will mark the inauguration of a new adventure for Niquet and Glossa focusing on the music associated with the Prix de Rome competition which drew in scores of leading French composers all the way from 1803 through 1968. [read more...]
Taking a leading role in the revival of tragédies lyriques (or tragédies en musique), the best of the French Baroque opera tradition, is a long, daunting (and expensive) challenge but one which Hervé Niquet has been keen to accept. Present as a singer in the chorus of Les Arts Florissants in 1987 when William Christie put on Lully’s Atys, Niquet formed his own ensemble, Le Concert Spirituel that same year. Since that time he has balanced his own endeavours to stage (and record) key French tragédies with his other musical interests, which extend from Monteverdi to Purcell and Handel (soon to be reissued – now on SACD – is Niquet’s recording of the Fireworks and Water Music suites) right the way through to later composers such as Schumann, Gounod and d’Indy.[read more...]