Program
François Colin de Blamont (1690–1760)
Le Retour des Dieux sur la Terre (1725)
Le Caprice d'Érato (1729)
The CMBV and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, with Artistic Director harpsichordist Aapo Häkkinen have joined forces! The initiative commences with a revival of Colin de Blamont.
François Colin de Blamont, superintendent of the Musique de la Chambre du Roi through the 1720’s and 1750’s, has remained (until today) in the shadow of his illustrious contemporary Jean-Philippe Rameau. His music mirrors that of his teachers Lully and Lalande and is of real worth. The two divertimenti performed here, occasional pieces composed for the apogee of Louis XV, are fine examples of his talent. His colourful, refined Retour des Dieux sur la Terre, performed for the King’s wedding in Fontainebleau in 1725 and the more dramatic Caprice d’Érato, performed at Versailles for the birth of the Dauphin in 1729 have remained as mere fragmented scores. Now restored, edited and completed, they have been performed and recorded for the first time since the 18th century. Under the expert direction of Alexis Kossenko in close collaboration with the CMBV Chantres choir and the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, these works resuscitate the splendour and refinement of the Age of Enlightenment.