La Muse
Muses and Heroines in French Baroque Music
M. P. de Montéclair, E.-C. J. de La Guerre, F. Couperin
Maïlys de Villoutreys – soprano
LA SAINTE FOLIE FANTASTIQUE (France)
François Nicolet – flauto traverso
Gabriel Grosbard – violin
Lucile Boulanger – bass viol
Arnaud De Pasquale – harpsichord
Monday 13. 7. 2015, 8.00 pm
Troja Chateau, U Trojského zámku 1, Praha 7
In collaboration with the French Institute in Prague and Prague Municipal Gallery.
The sixteenth edition of the Summer Festivities of Early Music – alive with goddesses, ladies, female mystics, and nymphs – opened at the Troja Chateau in Prague which was a most appropriate setting if we consider who gave the cause for the Trojan War. Also, the first owner of the estate was a lady, Alžběta Polyxena Dembinská, and the manor, guarded by a sculpture group of the Titans just seems to invite retellings of Ancient myths. Rendered by the French ensemble La Sainte Folie Fantastique, the stories about Ariadne and Bacchus, about beautiful shepherdesses or about Cephalus and Procris were both thrilling and pleasing to the ears. Together with the soprano Maïlys de Villoutreys, the musicians performed cantatas by well-known masters of French Baroque, such as François Couperin and Marc-Antoine Charpentier, but also lesser-known pieces by Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre and Julie Pinel.
Concert Programme
François Couperin (1668–1733)
L’Impériale – Sonade
La Piémontaise
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665–1729)
Sonate IIIa pour deux dessus, viole et basse continue en Ré majeur
Bémol Aria affetuoso
Sonate Ia pour deux dessus, viole et basse continue en Si bémol Majeur
Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (1667–1737)
La Mort de Didon
Ariane et Bacchus
Julie Pinel (?1710–1737)
Air: Rossignols vous chantez les douceurs du Printems
Air: Ruisseaux suspendez vôtre cours
Air à boire: Amans constans vous pouvez boire
Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643–1704)
Air: Ruisseau qui nourrit dans ce bois
Air Louré: Bergers de Suresne, Vous Etes Heureux
Musette et Chanson Pastorale: Bergers reprenez vos Musettes, L’aimable Paix est de retour
Air: Lieux écartés, paisible solitude
French Muses at the Troja Chateau
Opera PLUS, 14. 7. 2015, Lukáš Vytlačil
The sixteenth Summer Festivities of Early Music started in the beautiful surroundings of the Troja Chateau. The opening performance decidedly confirmed the position of the festival as one of the most prestigious cultural events in Prague... It would be impossible to praise some of the performers over the others as the whole ensemble played in a perfect symbiosis, thus enhancing the attractions of this repertoire which does not rely on spectacular virtuosity and technique but ingenious play with details and nuances. Most of the repertoire was based on the wonderful performance by the soprano Maïlys de Villoutreys who can boast a very clear voice with soft, yet full timbre. Thanks to her immaculate technique she was able to use the upper parts of her register with great intonation certainty and even dynamics.
