Handel — Duets & Cantatas — Reflections/review by Lenka Harigelová
Les Indes galantes, or Exoticism According to Rameau
Ana Quintans (soprano)
Emmanuelle de Negri (soprano)
Julie Roset (soprano)
Mathias Vidal (tenor)
Alexandre Duhamel (baritone)
Edwin Crossley-Mercer (bass)
Guillaume Andrieux (baritone)
Choeur et Orchestre de La Chapelle Harmonique
Valentin Tournet (conductor)
Recorded in Versailles, 14th‒16th November 2019 and 26th‒27th June 2020. Published on 26th March 2021
Château de Versailles Spectacles, CVS031
review by Lukáš M. Vytlačil
Today, Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683‒1764) is inseparably associated with his stage works; yet at the beginning of the 1730s this was by no means the case. He first held organist posts in Clermont-Ferrand and Dijon, settling permanently in Paris only in 1723. Although he had already attempted dramatic composition, he became known chiefly through his theoretical writings on music and through his harpsichord works. The breakthrough came in 1733, when, in collaboration with the Abbé Simon-Joseph Pellegrin, who supplied the libretto, he composed the tragédie lyrique Hippolyte et Aricie. Its innovative treatment provoked strong reactions and considerable controversy. The success of the production effectively opened the doors of the operatic world to Rameau, and the composer, already in his fifties, seized the opportunity with remarkable energy. Two years later, in 1735, he completed the opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes, today regarded as one of his best-known and most characteristic works.
The libretto was written by Louis Fuzelier (1672/1674–1752), who made use of the highly fashionable exotic themes of the period, designed to transport audiences into an idealised world of distant lands and cultures. In its original form, completed in August 1735, the work consisted of a Prologue, centred on the goddess of youth, Hébé, who urges soldiers to pursue love rather than warfare, and three entrées. These introduce a series of amorous intrigues set in the Ottoman Empire (Le Turc généreux), South America (Les Incas du Pérou), and Persia (Les Fleurs, or the Persian Festival of Flowers). The première took place on 23 August 1735 at the royal theatre in the Palais-Royal. For revivals in the following year, 1736, Rameau added a further entrée, Les Sauvages, devoted to the indigenous inhabitants of Louisiana, then a French colony in North America. This section also contains the most famous music in the entire work.
Modern audiences may find it puzzling that none of the entrées features actual inhabitants of India. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, however, the term “Indies” was commonly used to denote overseas continents in general. Thus, the West India Company held trading privileges in the Americas, while the East India Company operated in Asia, including India itself.
The combination of exotic settings, amorous plots, and a vividly colourful musical language proved highly attractive to audiences. Les Indes galantes may therefore justly be regarded as one of the works that helped France maintain a distinctive national operatic tradition at a time when much of Europe was falling under the influence of the Neapolitan school of opera. During the nineteenth century the work fell into obscurity, together with Rameau’s other compositions, and was rediscovered only in the twentieth century. One indication of the continuing interest in this outstanding score is the recording made by La Chapelle Harmonique under the direction of Valentin Tournet, recorded in 2019 and 2020 for the Château de Versailles Spectacles label (catalogue number CVS031). In this recording the extensive work is presented in a shortened version and with a modified order of acts. Alongside the Prologue, it includes the episodes of the Incas, the Turks, and the Savages, while the Persian entrée is omitted.
Somewhat unusually, I shall begin with the orchestra itself. The compact disc immediately attracts attention through its exceptionally well-chosen exotic colour palette on the cover, which perfectly reflects the performance of the instrumentalists (as well as that of the soloists and chorus). The orchestral playing is distinguished not only by excellent technical precision and ensemble cohesion, but above all by a richly imaginative exploitation of a wide range of timbral colours. Numerous percussion instruments are employed, as is the musette, the large French bagpipe that enjoyed considerable popularity in French society and was frequently associated with courtly evocations of rural festivities. Particular praise is also due to the wind players, who make a crucial contribution both to the richness of colour and to the dynamic impact of the performance. The principal flute solos are especially outstanding (unfortunately, I am unable to identify the performer, as the booklet provides no individual credits), as are those for piccolo, whose distinctive sonority Rameau was particularly fond of exploiting. In passages where pairs of instruments play in unison, especially the flutes and bassoons, slight differences in individual tone occasionally come into conflict, at times producing a somewhat less homogeneous effect.
The recording’s vivid and highly plastic sound is further enhanced by the chorus, consisting of twenty-five exceptionally well-blended singers, while the soloists likewise perform to a very high artistic standard. The cast comprises Ana Quintans (Hébé, Zima), Emmanuelle de Negri (Émilie, Phani), Julie Roset (Amour), Mathias Vidal (Valère, Don Carlos, Damon), Alexandre Duhamel (Huascar), Edwin Crossley-Mercer (Bellone, Don Alvar), and Guillaume Andrieux (Osman, Adario). The performance of the Portuguese soprano Ana Quintans is particularly distinguished and is certain to satisfy even the most demanding listeners. Her impeccable intonation, full and pleasing vocal timbre, and excellent diction combine to create a thoroughly compelling musical impression. Moreover, Quintans displays complete mastery of the demanding coloratura passages and of the extreme upper register, which Rameau employed in his solo roles with notable frequency. These parts therefore require singers of truly exceptional calibre.
Les Indes galantes is perhaps best known today through the celebrated recording by Les Arts Florissants under the direction of the harpsichordist and conductor William Christie. Nevertheless, the recording by La Chapelle Harmonique and Valentin Tournet likewise represents a highly accomplished and rewarding introduction to this remarkable opera by Rameau.