Francois Halard

It is only recently that the cantata Ariane consolated by Bacchus was attributed to Couperin, on the strength of many technical details too complex to be unrolled, but perfectly convincing. It is therefore a kind of first world discography of a work of this great composer that Christophe Rousset gives us, with the superb voice of Stéphane Degout whose impeccable speech allows to understand absolutely every word. There follow two immense apotheoses of the same, that of Corelli dated 1724 and that of Lully of the following year. These are very ample instrumental suites in the style of, with quotations, allusions, jokes of all kinds, in a quasi-theatrical and very descriptive writing approaching a kind of programmed music.

Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman, Ariane Maurette - Francois Couperin - Pieces de violes - 1728 (2012) {Alia Vox AVSA9893}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 239 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 103 Mb
Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 344 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1975, 2012 Alia Vox | AVSA9893
Classical / Baroque / Chamber Music / Bass Viola da gamba / Harpsichord

This beautiful recording, once long out-of-print, is now remastered in high definition multi-channel hybrid SACD, and is the first album made by Jordi Savall for the Astrée label, now reissued on Alia Vox. With this rare 1975 disc, Savall confirmed François Couperin as a master composer for viola da gamba with affinities to the previous masters of French music. On the recording Mr. Savall plays an authentic 7-string bass viol, anonymously constructed in 17th century France. He is joined by musicians Ton Koopman playing a Gilbert des Ruisseaux harpsichord built in the late 17th century and Ariane Maurette playing a Barak Norman bass viol constructed in London in 1697. Couperin’s music for these colorful instruments is marvelous, contemplative and beguiling. The highly collectible album, a must-have of the Savall oeuvre, is now available again and features a very informative booklet.

Francois De Roubaix - Best Motion Picture Soundtracks (1967-1979)
MP3 320 CBR kbps | Tracks: 71 | 02:46:10 | 347 Mb
Genre: Soundtrack, Score | Label: Barclay

François de Roubaix (April 3, 1939 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine – November 22, 1975 in Tenerife, Canary Islands) was a French film score composer.

Francois Ier: Musiques D'un Regne - Doulce Memoire, Denis Raisin Dadre (2015) [2CD] {Zig Zag Territoires}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 681 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 358 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (pdf+jpg) -> 53 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2015 Zig Zag Territoires | ZZT372
Classical / Early Music / Renaissance / Sacred / Vocal Music

Francis I, as a princely patron of the arts, realised that music was a very useful tool for his policy of prestige: Official music for great diplomatic events like the amazing musical ‘tournament’ between the Chapelle of the King of France and the Chapel Royal of Henry VIII of England at the Mass for the Field of the Cloth of Gold, reconstructed in this recording; but also more intimate music with the exceptionally subtle, refined and learned repertory to be heard in the monarch’s châteaux such as Chambord and Fontainebleau, performed by the finest singers and instrumentalists of the realm under the aegis of the Chambre du Roi. Here is a feast of previously unrecorded music for King Francis I, the symbol of a happy Renaissance.

Antoine Herve & Jean-Francois Zygel - Double Messieurs (2011) [CD+DVD5 NTSC] {Naive}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 334 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 187 Mb
DVD5 -> 1.40 Gb | All Regions | NTSC 16:9 | LPCM, 2 ch | ~ 33 min | ISO Image
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 109 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2011 Naive | V 5222
Jazz / Classical / Piano

Double Messieurs, c’est l’histoire de deux pianistes qui se retrouvent après 20 ans ; celle de Jean-François Zygel et du pianiste de jazz Antoine Hervé. Double Messieurs, c’est aussi l’histoire de 6 dates de concerts, dans six villes différentes. Double Messieurs enfin, c’est avant tout une histoire d’improvisation. En composant ce duo, Jean-François Zygel, figure émérite du classique dans les médias et pour les amateurs passionnés d’improvisation à la ville, aidé du jazzman Antoine Hervé, casse une bonne fois pour toute la barrière qu’il y a entre la musique classique et le jazz.

Pianist Fransois Bourassa presents his latest quartet album, Idiosyncrasie, on which the ensemble displays “new levels of mystery, whimsy and passion, with more angles and space in its sound and an ever-deepening telepathy among its members.” (Bob Blumenthal) Along with quartet regulars Andre Leroux, Guy Boisvert and Philippe Melanson, Bourassa sets out once again towards new musical discoveries.

Gwen, the Book of Sand / Gwen, le livre de sable - by Jean-François Laguionie (1985)

Une jeune fille, Gwen, a été adoptée par une tribu de nomades, dans un monde post-apocalyptique envahi par le sable. Dans ce désert, où ne subsistent que de rares animaux, une autruche, une gerboise ou un scorpion, une entité inconnue déverse parfois des flots d'objets, reproductions gigantesques de produits banals de notre monde (valises, téléphones, horloges…).