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Marais: Sémélé - Kuijken
ATMA Classique SACD22527
Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid
Classical
Marin Marais: Sémélé (overture and dances)
Montréal Baroque
Wieland Kuijken (conductor)
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Review by John Broggio - December 22, 2006
This is a great disc from another one of the fantastically talented Kuijken family.
Consisting of the overture and dances for Sémélé (extracted from the Prologue and each of the five acts), this is wonderful music, full of invention. Unlike some, ATMA have chosen to programme each dance on a separate track which makes finding particular movements so much easier than other companies that would have chosen to have one track per set of dances.
Montréal Baroque under Wieland Kuijken are a vital, sensitive and very well disciplined ensemble who make one feel like getting up to dance along with Marais' tunes. Not all the music is jolly and the tender, sad movements are also achingly played (try the Ritournelle on track 14). The notes concentrate more on an overview of Marais & Sémélé instead of a detailed analysis of the music but makes for an informative read about his life and times.
The recording is very fine indeed, with yet another good church in Montreal serving as a beautiful acoustic which makes for a lovely sound; full but with plenty of detail - I am becoming quite fond of ATMA recordings these days...
Copyright © 2006 John Broggio and HRAudio.net
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