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| Recordings |
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| Love is Strange (Alpha 081) |
| "intriguing" |
| John Brunning, Classic FM Magazine - December 2005 |
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| Pergolesi Stabat mater - Alpha009 |
| "Olivier Schneebeli’s youthful performance offers many fresh insights, and boasts the exquisite playing of Le Poème Harmonique." |
| Simon Heighes, BBC Music Magazine - July 2005 |
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| A. Boësset - Je meurs sans mourir - 2004 - Alpha |
| "Le Poème Harmonique are superb…At first listen, this diverse mixture of languages and ensemble may appear unsettling; later, however, it becomes clear how well managed is that diversity, and one begins to trace the threads in common. Dove ne vai, crudele is thoroughly, startlingly Italianate, and wonderfully sung. Claire Lefilliâtre, in particular, continues to impress: the title track, Je meurs sans mourir, combines artifice and a restrained but genuine emotional depth. The instrumentalists weave a spell-binding richness of detail. As the conclusion to a ‘first phase’ of Le Poème Harmonique’s involvement with airs de cour, it will be interesting to see where they go from here." |
The Gramophone - November 2004
Editor’s Choice |
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| "This collection of songs and ballets is the third disc from Vincent Dumestre based on French repertoire from this period and, as before, there are some delights and surprises. Among the delights we have the acute voice of Claire Lefilliâtre, gliding and dancing through songs such as ‘A la fin cette bergère’ with great dynamic control. The surprises include the exotic instrumental jamboree of the ‘Gran chacona’ (based on a tune from the Spanish West Indies) and the flamboyant bass solo “Bien que je vole”, rip-roaringly sung by Arnaud Marzorati….charm and elegance prevail." |
BBC Music Magazine - November 2004
****Performance |
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| "Beautiful…to die for/Last part of a trilogy started in 1999, this collection of French court songs has a taste of eternity…" |
| Classica Répertoire “CD of the Month” - September 2004 |
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| "The two latest discs by Le Poème Harmonique are a very beautiful example of the care taken by this ensemble to bring to the public a forgotten vocal repertoire of the baroque period" |
| Le Figaro - September 2004 |
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| "What about Le Poème Harmonique being simply the best early music ensemble? Able to combine the pleasure of discovering unknown works with the sensuality of their interpretation, Le Poème Harmonique and its director, Vincent Dumestre, still enchant each time." |
| L’Expressmag - September 2004 |
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| Nova Metamorfosi - 2003 - Alpha039 |
| "The performances are often remarkable; spontaneous mosaics of refined divisions, impassioned appoggiatura, dissonance and textural imagination. Monteverdi's 'O infelix recessus' with cornetto and viols is a gem of extraordinarily fine musical judgement from the performers." |
| Gramophone - October 2003 |
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| Il Fásalo ? - 2002 - Alpha023 |
| "…the emphasis is not so much on 'performance' in the traditional sense than on 'enactment' or imaginative re-creation, an approach which these young musicians embody admirably. The popular element is beautifully suggested in the freedom of inflection, in the singer's cultivated artlessness, and the continuo section's incisive swagger, which steals the show on more than one occasion. Having reviewed three discs from this ensemble in close succeddion, I must confess to being seriously impressed. Catch them now, and watch this space." |
| Gramophone - February 2003 |
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| "The performances are intimate, the singers showing folk-inflected vocal qualities. It’s hard to resist the open-throated, slightly crude graininess we hear from the tenors (Bruno Bonheure and Serge Goubioud) – a timbre now truly associated with Italian Baroque." |
| Sunday Times - 18 August 2002 |
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| Emilio De'Cavalieri - Lamentations - 2001 - Alpha011 |
| "It is an engaging and, to my ear, quite novel mix, one I urge you to hear. This enterprising label can also be commended on its "holistic" approach to presentation and for its flair in choosing young artists with something new to say." |
| Gramophone - August 2002 |
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