PRESENTATION
This compilation is presented as an invitation to travel in a musically abundant and inspiring baroque Europe.. It reflects the favorites and the human and musical encounters of 25 years of the Ensemble. From Italy to Germany, from France to England, the history of our discography mixes famous pieces - the concertos of Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach - with new discoveries - La Didone delirante by Alessandro Scarlatti, performed by Stéphanie d´Oustrac, or La Couronne de fleurs by Marc Antoine Charpentier on a text by Molière. Three new duet pieces have been recorded for this opus, deux Grounds de Henry Purcell, often played as an encore during our concerts, and the famous Greensleeves. This bonus is a nod to the musical and human encounter that allowed the creation of Amarillis in 1994. I would like to pay tribute to all the personalities who have supported and accompanied us, Violaine and me, in this journey since 25 years. Some have unfortunately disappeared today but their spirit remains very present. Since he started, our ensemble is part of the wake of inspiring and deeply memorable encounters. The renewal in the work of creativity cannot be done without the consideration of what has been achieved by the admirable and exceptional pioneers of the baroque movement.. I can't help but think back to these words sent by Gustave Leonhardt to Amarillis after the international Sinfonia en Périgord competition won by our Ensemble in 1997 :"I have the pleasure to recommend this ensemble to the musical world who will taste its precision, son expertise, and especially the subtlety of his eloquence. »But this respect does not prevent daring or openness, quite the contrary ! I think, for example, collaborations with contemporary composer Gérard Pesson or with jazz clarinetist Louis Sclavis : these meetings have enriched our history by encouraging us to invent new forms of speech with our baroque instruments. Finally the complicity and the work with lyrical artists as exceptional as Patricia Petibon, Stéphanie d´Oustrac and Mathias Vidal happily contributed to the development of an expressiveness and phrasing specific to Amarillis.
WHAT THE PRESS SAYS
Weekly | 11 October 2019
Florilège Baroque Our weekly selection N ° 1065 - November 2019
The Amarillis ensemble is one of the best French Baroque formations. Directed by Héloïse Gaillard, the ensemble performed with the best soloists and the most beautiful voices, in particular those of Karine Deshayes and Sonia Yoncheva. On the occasion of his 25th birthday, he offers us a small selection of his repertoire. A real journey through baroque Europe, from the France of Louis XIV to Italy via the England of a Handel or a Purcell, this anthology is also an opportunity to measure the extraordinary mastery of the repertoire of the ensemble which brings together monuments and forgotten little gems. Lightness of a Telemann, melancholy of Handel's chaconne, these talented instrumentalists and first and foremost the woodwinds of Heloise Gaillard are joined by the irreplaceable voices of Patricia Petitbon, particularly moving in Mancini and Stéphanie d´Oustrac, magnificent in the lamento of Dido or in the Medea of Clérambault. More than a discovery, a confirmation therefore.
Laurent Pfaadt
Release October 2019
Label Evidence classics
Distribution PIAS