LULLY: Pièces de Symphonie CAMPRA: L’Europe Galante

\n

A glorious collection of orchestral pieces from operas and\nballet music by Lully. At the same time easy and luscious on the\near, these instrumental movements or ‘symphonies’ from his ballets\nand operas were made into suites for performance away from the\ntheatre, a fashion which eventually led to the overture-suites of\nBach, Handel and Telemann, as well as so many of their lesser\ncontemporaries. The coupling on this disc is yet another French\norchestral suite by André Campra – a Provençal of Italian descent\nwho became director of the Opéra in Paris.

\n

First release on CD.

\n

‘Performances are excellent … In the Campra the character of the\nvarious pieces is precisely caught and conveyed, … an extremely\nenjoyable record, with impeccable playing from the ECO’\nGramophone

\n

‘Another selection of splendid operatic instrumental pieces by\nthe Italian-born creator of French music … The performances are\nextremely polished … Leppard, following the rhythmic (and\ninstrumental) conventions of the time, characterizes the music\nstrongly, and rightly makes the most of its variety … The ECO’s\nplaying and the recording alike are first-rate’ Gramophone

\n\n