Charpentier - La Descente d’Orphee aux Enfers
£14.20
In stock - available for despatch within 1 working day
Despatch Information
This despatch estimate is based on information from both our own stock and the UK supplier's stock.
If ordering multiple items, we will aim to send everything together so the longest despatch estimate will apply to the complete order.
If you would rather receive certain items more quickly, please place them on a separate order.
If any unexpected delays occur, we will keep you informed of progress via email and not allow other items on the order to be held up.
If you would prefer to receive everything together regardless of any delay, please let us know via email.
Pre-orders will be despatched as close as possible to the release date.
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Cat No: HMM902279
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 25th August 2017
Contents
Artists
Robert GetchellCaroline Weynants
Violaine Le Chenadec
Caroline Dangin-Bardot
Caroline Arnaud
Lucile Richardot
Stephen Collardelle
Davy Cornillot
Etienne Bazola
Nicolas Brooymans
Ensemble Correspondances
Conductor
Sebastien DauceWorks
La Descente d'Orphee aux Enfers, H488Artists
Robert GetchellCaroline Weynants
Violaine Le Chenadec
Caroline Dangin-Bardot
Caroline Arnaud
Lucile Richardot
Stephen Collardelle
Davy Cornillot
Etienne Bazola
Nicolas Brooymans
Ensemble Correspondances
Conductor
Sebastien DauceAbout
Charpentier made use of all 10 singers employed by Mademoiselle de Guise at the time, using the Orpheus myth, albeit one left in suspension, without a resolution; a carefree and happy ‘descent’ that celebrates Orpheus’s song and the enchanting power of music. Charpentier was one of the first French composers to use this story in its full dimensions. He had already produced a short divertissement called Orphée descendant aux Enfers, which may be regarded as the earliest example of the French cantata, a miniature vocal genre that flourished in aristocratic gatherings of the early 18th century. Conceived on a larger scale, La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers unfolds over two acts. The first installs the listener in the bucolic universe typical of the pastorale, peopled by nymphs led by Daphne, Arethusa and OEnone, who have come to celebrate the wedding of their companion Eurydice with the shepherd Orpheus. Eurydice is mortally wounded by a serpent and her sudden death leaves her companions and Orpheus distraught and tearful. The longer Act Two traces Orpheus’s difficult quest through the Underworld, where he charms first of all the damned souls, then Proserpina and Pluto, with his songs in the hope of bringing Eurydice back with him. He is finally allowed to leave with Eurydice, though warned that he must not meet her gaze until he has seen the light of day once more; otherwise, he will have to abandon her to the realm of the dead for ever. Charpentier’s manuscript stops at this point, as Orpheus commences his journey back to the light, leaving the denizens of the Underworld in despair at his departure.
A poetic experience amid the depths of night, which inspired Sébastien Daucé and his Ensemble Correspondances in this new edition, recorded in Grenoble in January last year.
Cast:
- Orphée: Robert Getchell
- Eurydice: Caroline Weynants
- Daphné: Violaine Le Chenadec
- OEnone: Caroline Dangin-Bardot
- Aréthuse/Proserpine: Caroline Arnaud, Lucile Richardot
- Ixion: Stephen Collardelle
- Tantale: Davy Cornillot
- Apollon/Titye Étienne Bazola
- Pluton: Nicolas Brooymans
Error on this page? Let us know here
Need more information on this product? Click here