A glimpse into grandeur: The Wedding of the Sun King

Isabelle Druet and Viktor Shapovalov

Le Poème Harmonique

Vincent Dumestre, soloists and Le Poème Harmonique

By Mengguang Huang, 18 January 2025

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“impeccable breath control and elastic phrasing brought a reverent clarity to Lully's lines”

Reviewed at Elbphilharmonie: Grand Hall, Hamburg on 17 January 2025

Programme to include:

Lully, Airs pour le carroussel de Monseigneur LWV 72: Sonneries pour les trompettes du Roy

Couperin, L'Art de toucher le clavecin (Prélude no. 2)

Lully, L’Hercule amoureux LWV 17 (Entrée pour la Maison de France)

Lully, Ballet de muses LWV 32: Les epagnoles, Les basques

Veillot, O filii et filiae

Lully, Motet de la Paix "Jubilate Deo omnis terra" LWV77/16

Nivers, Plein jeu du troisième ton

Rossi, Sinfonia Grave a 5, from Il Primo Libro delle Sinfonie et Gagliarde(Venice, 1607)

Cavalli, Magnificat, for eight voices and strings

Cavalli, Xerse: Lasciate mi morire

de Rosiers, Après une si longue guerre

Métru, Ô France

Hidalgo de Polanco, Celos aun del aire matan (Dos zagalas venian)

Charpentier, Messe pour les trépassés, H.2 (Agnus Dei)

Arañés, Libro segundo de tonos y villancicos (Un sarao de chacona)

Ana Quintans, Soprano

Isabelle Druet, Mezzo-soprano

Paco Garcia, Tenor

Serge Goubioud, Tenor

Viktor Shapovalov, Bass-baritone

Thierry Mechler, Organ

Le Poème Harmonique

Vincent Dumestre, Director

Russia meets France: Lully’s Phaéton in Versailles

Laura Servidei, 3rd June

A successful musical production of Lully’s masterpiece with Perm Opera’s MusicAeterna chorus and orchestra, Le Poème Harmonique, and a tremendous French-Russian cast.

****1

Le Poème Harmonique dazzles with Briceño

Travis Mason, 21st October

Long-forgotten Spanish guitar music brought to life in a scintillating concert by Le Poème Harmonique at Wigmore Hall.

*****

Budapest's Early Music Festival opens with an evening of French Sacred Music

Nahoko Gotoh, 2nd March

Taking the scenic riverside tram route to Müpa in Budapest, you cannot but be impressed by the magnificent legacy of the Habsburgs in this beautiful historical city.

****1

The human comedy: Le Poème Harmonique at the Wigmore Hall

Emily Owen, 14th October

“We call you to witness that if our voices work wonders, our lutes, too, please both heart and ear”. These lines, taken from the translation of the first piece in tonight’s programme, summed up, for me, the evening. Not only did Le Poème Harmonique provide us with some truly magical singing, the instrumental group provided balance, entertainment and fun throughout.

*****

Le Poème Harmonique at Columbia University

Zerbinetta, 12th September

In his 1995 book Text and Act, the musicologist Richard Taruskin wrote of the historically-informed performance movement, “the very recent concept of historical authenticity is implicitly projected back into historical periods that never knew it.

***11

L'Avare décousu mais réjouissant du Poème Harmonique à l'Athénée

Jean-Pierre Rousseau, 9th April

L'intermezzo de Gasparini tiré de la pièce de Molière déconcerte parfois mais le jeu en vaut la chandelle, car la mise en scène et l'interprétation musicale sont au rendez-vous.

****1

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Mengguang Huang

Mengguang Huang is a Hamburg-based project manager in the construction industry. With a strong passion for classical music, he was introduced to the world of early music during his time in the UK, where he developed a particular fondness for renaissance and Baroque vocal music. Driven by his love for this genre, he now makes it a priority to attend major Baroque opera productions and concerts across Western Europe whenever possible, continuing to deepen his appreciation for this rich musical tradition.

A glimpse into grandeur: The Wedding of the Sun King at the Elbphilharmonie