Search - Christoph Graupner, L'Ensemble des Idées heureuses, Geneviève Soly :: Graupner: Instrumental and Vocal Music, Vol. 1

Huge beauty and... a little disappointment

Francois Beaudoin | Quebec, Canada (where we speak french) | 10/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On the whole, this music is beautiful and very well executed.We are very close to the magic of the great J.S.Bach. Genevieve Soly has chosen a varied repertoire of some unknowed pieces that are refreshing. Just heared the little Sonata for obbligato harpsichord and violin in G Major. It is impossible when listening to it not to think of some viola de gamba sonata by J.S. Bach. A litte moment of great pleasure and "gracefulness". The ouverture for viole d'amour is graceful with some rare punchy moments (fortunately). But this piece is so "repeating" (and we have to endure it for 29:25 minutes)that I finally become irritable and fidgety. I'am sure that Soly (who is also a musicologist and a teacher) would have been able to find someting more interesting and powerful in the 44 concertos for one to four instruments or in the 86 orchestral overtures-suites (or in the 37 sonatas (tio, aquatto,and a sei)) that Graupner has written. A long disappointement here.

In the two Cantatas, the soprano, Ingrid Schmithusen, is outstanding and her clear cistalling voice is so well accompagnied by those remarkable musicians. The sound is very good and deep. The canadian label "Analekta" has finally made great progress in recording.Good luck to Soly in her "Graupner Project"."

The best introduction to an overlooked Master of Baroque

Massimo Nespolo | France | 11/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A major figure in Baroque music, Christoph Graupner (1683-1760) became after his death an obscure composer mainly because his manuscripts long remained inaccessible and because he had very few pupils to carry on his musical legacy. Graupner's work have been recently brought to light thanks to the research efforts of musicologists and performers, among whom a first-rate role is played by Montreal harpsichordist Geneviève Soly and her group "L'Ensemble des Idées heureuses".

This recording is an excellent introduction to Graupner's style and offers to the listener a representative panorama of the melodic and thematic richness of this Master of Baroque. With two sonatas, two concerts, a cantata and an opera excerpt spanning from 1711 to 1744, the performers gift us a musical journey from the youth to the maturity of the composer. If the instrumental compositions, with their originality and expressive power, show that Graupner's talent was not second to his more famous contemporaries, the two vocal works largely bypass the boundaries of his historical period and place him among the immortal names of music. In particular the cantata, and specifically the Aria (track No. 3), moves the listener to tears.

This is without any doubts a desert island recording that deserves a central place in any serious music collection."

Just Marvelous !

Jean S. Gregoire | Ottawa, Ontario Canada | 03/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased the cd for a couple raisons, first is the Ensemble is from Quebec Canada, for a while now we have great musicians who specialize in the baroque repertoire. The music is supber and well recorded, and the voice of the soprano simply angelic."