Le Concert des Nations - Les Elements: Tempetes, Orages & Fetes Marines 1674-1764 (2015)

This double album is an invitation to explore the forces of nature, so vividly depicted by the composers at the turn of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries. With this stunning (and Jordi's first) recording of Jean-Fery Rebel s Les Elements, Savall displays his unmatched vision of the baroque orchestral repertoire, proving that authenticity and timbral beauty aren t mutually exclusive. New recordings of works by Locke, Vivaldi, Marais, Telemann and Rameau - a splendidly varied and expressively wide-ranging selection - is a welcome addition to the existing landmark recordings made by Savall in this repertoire. Pellucid engineering complements the live performances perfectly, offering warmth without excessive resonance, and letting the players shine.


'From the opening of Jean-Féry Rebel s Le Cahos all 12 notes scrunched into one chord Jordi Savall s inventive programming explores earth, air, fire and water ... Le Concert des Nations plays with typical verve and energy.' --Nicholas Kenyon The Observer, 10th January 2016

'a live recording of an excellent programme with the theme of musical tone painting ... I enjoyed the discs very much' --David Hansell Early Music Review, 24th January 2016

'Jordi Savall directs with typical grandeur and depth of tone. The subject-matter means plenty of work for the two-man wind machine and rumbling drum department, but there is exquisite contrast too in, say, the fluty stillness of Marais s Ritournelle or the exquisitely graceful sleeping Thetis Sarabande of the Telemann' --Lindsay Kemp Gramophone, February 2016