Pygmalion & Raphaël Pichon - Enfers (2018) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Raphaël Pichon has invited Stéphane Degout to make his recording debut for harmonia mundi in a multifaceted exploration of the Underworld. The French baritone reincarnates the figure of Henri Larrivée, the famous tragedian of Rameau and Gluck. Around a reconstruction of an imaginary Mass of the Dead, sacred and secular merge, revealing some of the most extraordinary pieces from the operatic repertory of the Enlightenment. Music of death and mourning on an epic scale that inspires Pygmalion to overwhelming heights of pathos.

A graduate of the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon and member of the Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Lyon, Stéphane Degout quickly came to international attention in his debut as Papageno at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Since then, he has appeared on the world’s major operatic stages, namely the Opera de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Opéra Comique, Berlin Staatsoper, La Monnaie, Theater an der Wien, Royal Opera House, Lyric Opera Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, the Teatro alla Scala and the Bayerische Staatsoper. His numerous festival appearances include Salzburg, Glyndebourne, Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Raphaël Pichon began his musical training at the Maîtrise des Petits Chanteurs de Versailles and went on to study singing, the violin and the piano at the Paris Conservatoires (CRR, CNSMDP). As a young countertenor he sang under the direction of Jordi Savall, Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman, and Geoffroy Jourdain with whom he performed contemporary works.

In 2006 he founded the ensemble Pygmalion, which combines a choir and a period instrument orchestra. The ensemble’s repertoire is nurtured by the filiations that link Bach to Mendelssohn, Schütz to Brahms, and Rameau to Gluck and Berlioz. Along with this group – now an associate ensemble at the Opéra de Bordeaux – he is invited to appear at leading festivals, where he has attracted attention with his interpretations of the sacred music of Bach and the tragédies lyriques of Rameau.

Tracklist:
01. Zoroastre, RCT 62, Act IV, Scene 6: Ah ! Nos fureurs ne sont point vaines (La Vengeance)
02. Les Élémens: Chaos
03. Dardanus, RCT 35, Act IV, Scene 4: Voici les tristes lieux. Montre affreux (Anténor)
04. Messe de Requiem sur des thèmes de Castor et Pollux: Requiem æternam
05. Iphigénie en Tauride, Wq. 46, Act II, Scenes 3 & 4: Dieux ! Protecteurs de ces affreux rivages (Oreste)
06. Messe de Requiem sur des thèmes de Castor et Pollux: Kyrie eleison
07. Hippolyte et Aricie, RCT 43, Act II, Scene 4: Dieux ! Que d'infortunés gémissent en ces lieux ! (Thésée)
08. Les Surprises de l'amour, RCT 58, Act II, Scene 8: Loure
09. Armide, Wq. 45, Act IV, Scene 1: Nous ne trouvons partout que des gouffres ouverts (Ubalde et le Chevalier danois)
10. Messe de Requiem sur des thèmes de Castor et Pollux: Domine Jesu Christe
11. Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 30, Act II, Scene 1: Sinfonie infernale. Air de furie
12. Zoroastre, RCT 62, Act IV, Scenes 5 & 6: Épuisons le flanc des tristes victimes (Abramane)-Ministres, redoutés du plus puissant empire (Abramane, Érinice)
13. Zoroastre, RCT 62, Act IV, Scene 5: Air grave pour les Esprits infernaux
14. Zoroastre, RCT 62, Act IV, Scene 6: Quel bonheur ! L'Enfer nous seconde (Abramane, Les Furies, choir)
15. Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 30, Act II: Danse des Furies
16. Hippolyte et Aricie, RCT 43, Act II, Scene 5: Vous, qui de l'avenir percez la nuit profonde (Pluton)-Quelle soudaine horreur (Trois Parques)
17. Hippolyte et Aricie, RCT 43, Act III, Scene 6: Qu'ai-je appris ? Puissant maître des flots (Thésée)
18. Messe de Requiem sur des thèmes de Castor et Pollux: Hostias et preces tibi
19. Hippolyte et Aricie, RCT 43, Act IV, Scene 4: Quelle plainte en ces lieux m'appelle ? (Phèdre)
20. Hippolyte et Aricie, RCT 43, Act V, Scene 2: Je ne te verrai plus ! (Thésée)
21. Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 30, Act II, Scene 2: Ballet des Ombres heureuses
22. Messe de Requiem sur des thèmes de Castor et Pollux: Requiem æternam
23. Les Boréades, RCT 31, Act IV, Scene 4: Entrée de Polymnie

Composers:
Gluck, Christoph Willibald (1714-87)
Rameau, Jean Philippe (1683-1764)
Rebel, Jean-Féry (1661-1747)

Personnel:
Stéphane Degout, baritone
Pygmalion
Raphaël Pichon, conductor