Not to be Missed

The French ensemble Les Paladins,
heard by GIUSEPPE PENNISI

French baroque music, especially baroque opera, is rarely performed outside France, Belgium and the German Länder bordering the Rhine. Thus, the concert offered on 14 March 2015 as a part of Rome's Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti (IUC) was a treat not be missed. IUC had the wits and skills to catch a well known ensemble, Les Paladins, during a tour of Central and Northern Italy. It was a special tour: a confrontation between French baroque operas (in the first part) and Italian baroque ones (in the second part). An added and unexpected bonus was a finale of German baroque music — not in the program but a result of circumstances.

The French Ensemble takes its name from Jean Philippe Rameau's last comédie lyrique, titled Les Paladins. In 2014, the ensemble and its director, Jerôme Correas, marked two-hundred-and-fifty years since the composer's death with a classy concert in several European concert halls, including Wigmore Hall in London last October. In this undertaking, they were joined by soprano Sandrine Piau. As The Guardian wrote: 'we were reminded of why Rameau is remarkable. He was fifty when he wrote his first opera — and his palpable delight at exploring a new medium, combined with his subtle understanding of sensual pleasure, make him utterly unique'.

Piau, considered one of the great interpreters of Rameau's work, technically secure and immaculate in her fusion of sound and sense, fell sick before the Italian tour. On 14 March, Chantal Santon sang the French part of the program and Maria Grazia Schiavo the Italian part. Whilst in the first part, excerpts from Rameau's operas brought us the elegant flavor of French baroque, in the second part vocal and instrumental music by Antonio Vivaldi gave us a sample of tense and terse Italian baroque.

Chantal Santon, Jerôme Correas and Maria Grazia Schiavo with Les Paladins at Rome's La Sapienza University. Photo © 2015 Damiano Rosa

The introduction to the first part was the overture and dances from Les Indes Galantes, a clear test of what the Versailles Court loved: a lace of themes gently embroidered with Ottoman Empire and Polish motifs. It was followed by an aria from the opéra-ballet Anacréon; in explaining the meaning of love as the God of Peace, Chantal Santon offered a demonstration of her coloratura abilities. The grief beneath the beauty from the Castor et Pollux aria was a virtuoso exercise. At the opposite extreme, Folly's eruption into the comic world of Platée to bless the preposterous union of Jupiter and a frog dipped into the surreal. Chantal Santon demonstrated that she is also an accomplished actress.

Jerôme Correas, Maria Grazia Schiavo and Chantal Santon with Les Paladins at Rome's La Sapienza University. Photo © 2015 Damiano Rosa

The Vivaldi part was very different. Rameau's music was aristocratic entertainment to be played in the charming Versailles opera house to an audience adoring sophisticated but not too demanding music. Vivaldi's compositions were to be performed either in churches or in commercial theatres. They reflected the composer's inner agony and ecstasy as well as his interest in describing landscapes and natural events (such as tempests). Maria Grazia Schiavo started out with the delicate aria 'Zeffirelli che sussurate' full of references to the beauty of nature, which provides consolation for a sad love affair. After a descriptive sonata in B minor La Follia (Sonata No 12), her main piece was the highly dramatic 'In Furore iustissimae irae'.

Maria Grazia Schiavo and Chantal Santon with members of Les Paladins at Rome's La Sapienza University. Photo © 2015 Damiano Rosa

Then the surprise: two rare baroque pieces for two sopranos, Handel's Dixit Dominus duet as well as the aria and duet 'Lascia che io pianga' from his opera Rinaldo. Clearly, Handel is closer to Vivaldi than to Rameau.