Le Concert des Oiseaux

by La Reveuse, Florence Bolton, Benjamin Perrot

Overview

Several famous pieces of music based on birdsong appeared in the 19th and 20th centuries; those by Saint-Saens, Britten, and Ravel are here, although Messiaen is not. However, the affinity between music and birdsong had been explored for centuries before that, and the early music group La Reveuse here provides some delightful examples. The always pictorial Francois Couperin is represented, as is Rameau, but other composers are less familiar but no less charming. Sample the works by Theodor Schwartzkopff, Michel Blavet, and especially Michel Pignolet de Monteclair (1667-1737), whose "Les Ramages" ("The Songs") names a group of birds and then illustrates their songs. Then there are historical-instrument versions of Saint-Saens, Britten, and Ravel. One may accept this idea or not, but even in the latter case, they don't do much to dent the charm of the whole. The program ends with a work by contemporary composer Vincent Bouchot, Le Carnaval des animaux en peril, a kind of a take-off on Saint-Saens for the Anthropocene era that also calls forth a striking variety of instruments from La Reveuse. Another questionable idea is that, in keeping with the practices of this group, recorded birdsong is heard between some of the tracks. Whatever aspects of this release might be doubtful, it rarely fails to bring a smile. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	02/10/2023
Label:	Harmonia Mundi
UPC:	3149020946510
Rank:	98238

Tracks

1. The Fairy Queen~Act II: Prelude for The Birds
2. Engels Nachtegaeltje, Der Fluyten Lust-Hof, Vol. 1
3. Sonata all'imitazione del Rossignolo e del Cucco: Allegro - Gigue
4. Le Rossignol en amour (Troisi¿¿me Livre de Pi¿¿ces de Clavecin, Quatorzi¿¿me Ordre)
5. Pourquoi doux rossignol
6. Cinqui¿¿me concert ¿¿ deux fl¿¿tes sans basse~Les Ramages
7. Les Fauv¿¿tes Plaintives, for harpsichord (Pi¿¿ces de clavecin, III, 14e ordre)
8. Pi¿¿ces pour la musette, ¿¿uvre V.me~Suite 1re. Le Coucou
9. Le Carnaval des Animaux~Le Coucou au fond des bois
10. Friday Afternoons, Op. 7~Cuckoo!
11. La Poule (Nouvelles suites de Pi¿¿ces de Clavecin)
12. Le Carnaval des Animaux~Poules et Coqs
13. Ma M¿¿re l'Oye~Laideronnette, imp¿¿ratrice des pagodes
14. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Pr¿¿lude. Tristesse du Pangolin
15. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Allemande. Le Loris de Java
16. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Courante. Le Dodo, volaille du pass¿¿
17. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Interlude R¿¿ sol mi la 63
18. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Sarabande. Le Harfang des neiges et le Harfang des mines, musique en noir et blanc
19. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Gavotte. Le Gavial du Gange
20. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Interlude R¿¿ sol mi la 92
21. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Valse-twist. Le Concombre des mers
22. Le Carnaval des animaux en p¿¿ril, Suite~Gigue. L'¿¿tre humain, sa fuite en avant

Album Credits

Performance Credits

La Reveuse   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Benjamin Perrot   Primary Artist
Florence Bolton   Primary Artist
Koske Nozaki   Musette,Gemshorn,Recorder,Flageolet
Sebastien Marq   Flute,Recorder,Flageolet

Technical Credits

Florence Bolton   Liner Notes,Digital Editing
Ernst Meyer   Instrument Design
Fumitaka Saito   Instrument Design
Benjamin Perrot   Digital Editing
La Reveuse   Arranger
Gioachino Belli   Poetry
Fausto Cangelosi   Instrument Design
Philippe Bolton   Instrument Design
Federico Xiccato   Instrument Design
Gaetan Juge   Engineer,Mastering,Digital Editing,Artistic Director
Marion Paquier   Administration,Artistic Producer
Remy Dubois   Instrument Design
Clementine Albessard   Instrument Design
Alois Biberger   Instrument Design
Arnaud Kehon   Photography
Emilie Leroux   Administration,Artistic Producer
Houshun Masuda   Instrument Design
Jean-Miguel Aristizabal   Tuning
Henry Purcell   Composer
Camille Saint-Saens   Composer
Francois Couperin   Composer
Benjamin Britten   Composer
Jean-Philippe Rameau   Composer
Maurice Ravel   Composer
Jacob van Eyck   Composer
Michel Blavet   Composer
Charles Johnston   Liner Note Translation
Olivier Messiaen   Liner Notes
Michel Pignolet de Monteclair   Composer
Theodor Schwartzkopff   Composer
Kunito Kinoshita   Instrument Design
Raphael Trano   Recitation
Henri Gohin   Instrument Design
Guido Klemisch   Instrument Design
Stephen Murphy   Instrument Design
Mathias Durvie   Instrument Design
Philippe Humeau   Instrument Design
Francois Bodart   Instrument Design
Michel Corrette   Composer
Vincent Bouchot   Arranger,Composer,Liner Notes
Adrian Brown   Instrument Design
Bernhard Junghanel   Instrument Design
Jean-Baptiste de Bousset   Composer
Maurice Ottiger   Instrument Design