Product Description

This album featuring Carolyn Sampson and Ex Cathedra showcases works written for the foremost soprano of the French Baroque, Marie Fel. Voltaire called her his ''adorable nightingale.'' Fel held an entire generation spellbound at the Paris Opera and at Louis XV's court during one of the most glorious periods of French music. She inspired some of Rameau's finest music and introduced a whole new level of virtuosity and expression into the French singing tradition. Her long, triumphant career is traced through this fascinating recording.

Review

GRAMOPHONE AWARD: Best Recital
A highly recommendable disc
-- Fanfare
The accomplished, stylistically informed British soprano Carolyn Sampson offers a highly worthy study of - and tribute to - her great predecessor Marie Fel... The members of Jeffrey Skidmores precise instrumental choral ensemble, Ex Cathedra, prove excellent collaborators.
-- Opera News
This is a brilliantly planned and executed...Carolyn Sampson, in superb form, is joined here by the choir of Ex Cathedra, who sing with precision and clarity of articulation in a lovely bright acoustic...Jeffrey Skidmore devotedly shapes and paces the program to achieve a fittingly vivid portrait of Mlle Fel. --Gramophone
The program is well-chosen and immaculately executed by Skidmore and forces. When I see the name of Carolyn Sampson on anything I know that it is a guaranteed seal of quality, and she doesnt disappoint here. Her glorious voice is pliable and easily adapted to the variety of styles that Fel assimilated, with a broad range and far-reaching palate of colors on which to draw. --Audiophile Audition