This Virgin Classics release reunites William Christie and Les Arts Florissants with the music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier, a composer for whom it can be said Christie has done more to expose than any other he has taken on. This is saying a lot, as Christie has also made extensive recorded forays into the works of Campra, Lully, Montéclair, Monteverdi, Purcell, and in particular, Handel. However, Charpentier remains a special case to Christie, and there is still a monumental amount of unrecorded music by this composer to exploit. The two works on Virgin Classics' Charpentier: Judicium Salomonis actually have been recorded before, though not often and not by well-known groups like Christie's – the Motet pour une longue Offrande has been recorded by Philippe Herreweghe and that's about it in terms of the competition.

Marc-Antoine Charpentier was neglected for centuries after his death, but by the late 20th century increased frequency of performances and recordings revealed him as one of the geniuses of the Baroque. He had a distinctive, individual voice and a gift for subtle emotional expression capable of evoking the most profound grief, as well as a loopy humor rarely associated with music of his era.

Niquet’s performances of Charpentier with Le Concert Spirituel are generally characterised by their liveliness. Niquet uses quite small forces, which emphasises the chamber nature of much of Charpentier’s writing, even in his grandest works. Niquet’s version of the Te Deum is one of the bounciest that I have heard. Crisp and lively playing from the instrumentalists emphasises the work’s dance-like qualities in a charming way. The faster sections are taken with remarkable speed and dexterity, but never feel rushed and they contrast admirably with the slower movements.

This imaginatively-curated, generously-filled Christmas package is sure to find favor during this and future holiday seasons. Why? Because it packs in every conceivable carol, tune, choral work or song in timeless performances from the greatest artists in the world: singers of immense communicative gifts including Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming and Luciano Pavarotti to name but four. It truly offers something of every Christmas mind, spirit, and looks fantastic.

It is extremely difficult nowadays to reproduce the sound castrato singers where capable of doing at their time and, too often, one finds voices that are too nasal or merely good falsettos. But in many of the performances in this CD one can let the imagination wander and almost imagine you are in the 18th century. In particular, the performance of James Bowmann is outstanding. Also very special the performace of Charpentier 'Salve Regina' by Gerard Lesne and the others; this of course enhanced by the exquisite sensibility of the director Jordi Saval. Also, the duo of Derek Lee Ragin and Ewa Mallas-Godlewska in 'Son qual nave ch'agitata' is so exquisite it brings tears to your eyes.

Following on from and designed along the same lines as the Guide to Period Instruments, this boxed set includes an exhaustive introductory text as well as a great quantity of music excerpts on the set’s eight CDs. These extracts have been taken from the extensive repertoire recorded by Ricercar over many years, with excerpts from recordings kindly provided by our colleagues from Harmonia Mundi, Gimell, Accent, Alpha and Sony supplementing our programme where necessary. The Lutheran repertoire of the Renaissance has remained for all intents and purposes unrecorded up until now; the tracks illustrating this repertoire together with other excerpts have been recorded specially for this compilation by Vox Luminis.

The 18th century was a time when deportment and noble behavior were essential for people of quality. Dance formed a major part of all social ceremonies and theatrical presentations. Nowhere was dancing more highly regarded than in France, where ballets de cour assumed great importance, and the Lullian tragedie en musique had its counterpart in the ballet en action of the opera-ballet. The Fantaisie (1729) and Plaisirs champetres (1734) of Jean-Fiery Rebel, reflecting the differing personalities of their prima ballerinas Camargo and Salle, have been called choreographic symphonies.

Trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth's album of Magical Memories was recorded during the coronavirus pandemic and intended as a positive statement, suggesting childhood memories that bring strength at a difficult time. The memories are Helseth's own; she heard her mother play the trumpet with an organist in church and loved the combination. It's a simple and direct concept, but it conceals several challenges that Helseth has successfully surmounted on this lovely release. First of all, in Helseth's own words, "There is nothing as difficult to play as a really simple melody – a simple, unadorned, honest melody coming from within. It's magic!" She offers traditional Norwegian folk melodies and classical favorites, and she's right; to make these more than ordinary is difficult, but she pulls it off with really charismatic performances of the likes of "Solveig's Lullaby" from Grieg's Peer Gynt.

The instrumental works of Marc-Antoine Charpentier are familiar to very few people. A large number of them were composed for use in churches, the most famous of these being the Messe pour plusieurs instruments au lieu des orgues that has already been recorded by Jean Tubéry and La Fenice for Ricercar (RIC 245). Charpentier composed the Sonate à huit around 1685, at a time when various private musical societies were exploring the Italian sonata style. Charpentier discovered this style at the same time as François Couperin, who also set about composing sonatas in the Italian style. Charpentier’s Sonate à huit blends the Italian style with the French suite of dances and as such is one of the masterpieces of instrumental music of the French baroque. The symphonies Pour un Reposoir were intended to accompany an outdoor procession, an organ naturally not being available. The greater part of the CD, however, is taken up by the Noëls pour les Instruments which Charpentier set for instrumental ensemble and organ. We have also recorded the original versions of the above-mentioned Christmas carols, complete with their many verses as they appeared in French collections published at the beginning of the 18th century. This recording of Christmas music can be enjoyed throughout the year!

Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert take a refined look at Christmas Concertos from the baroque masters. So that's Vivaldi, Handel, Corelli and plenty more.

Who was Louis Gaulard Dumesny? Dumesny was not the first haute-contre historically speaking, but he was the first to have become famous in his lifetime. Sources agree that he was a cook when Lully discovered him. He made his debut in 1677 and everyone was amazed by his acting, the power of his voice and also his ability to learn everything by ear, since he could not read music. A few centuries later, Reinoud Van Mechelen, star tenor of the international Baroque scene, has decided, with his ensemble A Nocte Temporis, to pay tribute to this ‘haute-contre’ register, a high tenor voice (not to be confused with the countertenor!), by devoting three recordings to it, paying tribute in turn to Lully, Rameau and Gluck.

Due to legal complications engineered by Jean-Baptiste Lully and effected by Louis XIV, Marc-Antoine Charpentier's brilliant incidental music for Molière's final comedy, Le Malade imaginaire (1672-1674), was subjected to two drastic revisions. Despite the composer's usual precautions and careful maintenance of his manuscripts, the work's ordering became confused and scores of two important sections – the "Premier intermède" and the "Petit opéra impromptu" – lost. Thanks to the work of musicologists John S. Powell and H. Wiley Hitchcock, the full work has been reconstructed from surviving parts and restored for performance. The 1990 recording by William Christie and Les Arts Florissants is the most complete and authoritative version available; but if that makes it seem stuffy and dry, then hearing the performance will come as a glorious surprise.

A contemporary of Lully and Lalande, Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704) was something of an outsider to the French court of Louis XIV, which helps to explain his comparative obscurity. A period of study in Rome doubtless gave Charpentier exposure to the polychoral style long-established from the time of Gabrieli, and this recording presents the triple-choir Salve Regina alongside the opulent Messe à quatre chœurs – written for four separate choirs, with a large continuo team of four organs, four theorbos, bass viol and great bass viol! The possibilities opened up by such a wealth of musicians engender music which seems as close to the proverbial “choir of the angels of heaven” as could be desired.

Ma rencontre avec la musique de Charpentier remonte à mes années d'études aux Etats-Unis, au cours desquelles mes professeurs avaient l'habitude de parler de cette musique et de la montrer. J'ai ainsi découvert le "Reniement de Saint-Pierre" dans une anthologie de musique religieuse…Je me souviens aussi avoir entendu du Charpentier chanté en traduction anglaise, parfois aussi en latin par certains chœurs de paroisses protestantes. C'est là que j'ai pris connaissance de la "Pastorale sur la naissance de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ".William Christie

Versailles: its court, its atmosphere and its music… So many splendours emblematic of a monument with an incomparably rich history. The works associated with the palace have travelled down the centuries and today represent a precious part of our heritage. In this ten-CD set, Alpha retraces the musical life of the unique and luminous universe of Versailles. Le Poème Harmonique, Café Zimmermann, Capriccio Stravagante and many others invite themselves into the company of Jean-Baptiste Lully, Marc-Antoine Charpentier and Jean-Henry d’Anglebert and share with us for a few hours the sumptuous concerts that made Versailles a place like no other.