A glorious collection of orchestral pieces from operas and ballet music by Lully. At the same time easy and luscious on the ear, these instrumental movements or ‘symphonies’ from his ballets and operas were made into suites for performance away from the theatre, a fashion which eventually led to the overture-suites of Bach, Handel and Telemann as well as so many of their lesser contemporaries. The coupling on this disc is yet another French orchestral suite by André Campra – a Provençal of Italian descent who became director of the Opéra in Paris.
First release on CD.
JEAN BAPTISTE LULLY
Pièces de Symphonie
ANDRE CAMPRA
L’Europe Galante
English Chamber Orchestra
Raymond Leppard
Recordings: Kingsway Hall, London, UK, 1966 (Campra), 1967 (Lully)
‘Performances are excellent … In the Campra the character of the various pieces is precisely caught and conveyed, … an extremely enjoyable record, with impeccable playing from the ECO’ Gramophone
‘Another selection of splendid operatic instrumental pieces by the Italian-born creator of French music … The performances are extremely polished … Leppard, following the rhythmic (and instrumental) conventions of the time, characterizes the music strongly, and rightly makes the most of its variety … The ECO’s playing and the recording alike are first-rate’ Gramophone