Presentation
20th album of the Ensemble for the Harmonia Mundi label. This new collaboration with mezzo soprano Stéphanie d'Oustrac, a long-time accomplice of the ensemble, is placed under the theme of Folly, this emblematic figure of the baroque period.
After having embodied alongside Amarillis, Medea, Dido as well as Marie, in two programmes and discographic releases, Stéphanie metamorphoses this time to incarnate La Folie, which is expressed under the aspects of a thousand-faceted character, excessive as well as extravagant, traversed by the diversity of human passions. It is a question of making madness heard in all its states and all its outbursts in order to better explore its different faces and highlight, under the aegis of baroque composers with very diverse inspirations, the characters associated with it.
WHAT THE PRESS SAYS ABOUT IT
Diamant d’Opéra - Coup de Coeur, Folies Flamboyantes
« […] le dialogue avec l’ensemble Amarillis, qui colle à son interprète fétiche comme une seconde peau, confine à l’alchimie. »
Mehdi Mahdavi, Opéra Magazine - juillet 2020
La Jouissance de la vie - ❤ ❤ ❤
« […] Les pages instrumentales sont vivantes et colorées à souhait. »
Yvan Beuvard, Forum Opéra – juillet 2020
*****
« Mezzo-soprano Stéphanie d’Oustrac is dazzling across these various personae, to which she brings not only luscious vocalism but also a blistering intensity. No less impressive is the Ensemble Amarillis, directed by recorder player Héloïse Gaillard; for zest and bustling invention, the band at times outstrips Folly herself. »
Berta Joncus, BBC Music Magazine – août 2020
Enregistrement du mois
« […] d’Oustrac brings a passionate intensity to these portraits, amorous, grieving or deranged. With her wide range of colour and her care for the sound and sense of words, the French mezzo makes each character vividly distinct. […] Throughout the recital Ensemble Amarillis are ideally fiery and/or sympathetic accomplices. »
Richard Wigmore, Gramophone UK – septembre 2020
CD du mois
« So opulent wie von Stéphanie d’Oustrac und dem Ensemble Amarillis wird die Affekt-Palette barocker Klangkunst selten ausgereizt. »
OpernWelt - septembre 2020
Un son extrêmement direct et extraordinairement coloré
« Das Ensemble Amarillis fasziniert mit einem enorm direkten und ausserordentlich farbigen Klang, der sofort gefangen nimmt. »
Jan Krobot, Online Merker - juin 2020
Un tourbillon d’émotions
« El solo placer de disfrutar de una refinada pronunciación francesa es razón suficiente para escuchar este disco. »
La Quinta de Malher - août 2020
****
« Throughout, Gaillard leads the ever-alert, accommodating Ensemble Amarillis with sure-footed aplomb. »
Michael Quinn, Limelight magazine - sept 2020
Bien rythmée ; le phrasé est naturel, la dynamique variée sans être tatillonne
"The unity between the players is especially strong throughout, sharing Gaillard’s vision and direction and bringing a unifying consistency to the performances. Each piece is considered and well-paced; phrasing is natural, dynamics varied without being fussy. Most of all, there is a sense of spontaneity which prevails from beginning to end."
Leighton Jones, The Classic Reviiew - nov 2020
DISTRIBUTION
AMARILLIS, Artistic Director : Héloïse Gaillard
Héloïse Gaillard / Xavier Miquel : Oboe and flutes
Alice Piérot / Liv Heym : Violin
Josèphe Cottet : Violin and Viola
Laurent Muller : Alto
Laurent Le Chenadec : Bassoon
Ludovic Coutineau : Violin
Violaine Cochard : Harpsichord and Vocal Conductor
Gauthier Broutin : Cello
Roman Falik : Theorbo
& Stéphanie d'Oustrac : Mezzo soprano