Catalogue

Summary:

Soprano Hannah De Priest makes her recording debut alongside early music ensemble Les Délices, with Arcadian Dreams, an album of baroque-era secular cantatas and scintillating instrumental works.

Arcadian Dreams: the title conjures pastoral perfection; an idyllic vision rooted in Greek mythology. Equally, it references the Arcadian Academy established in Rome in 1690, a vibrant hub of intellectual and artistic creativity whose influence quickly spread across Europe.

Arcadian Dreams assembles an exquisite group of composers – both esteemed and inspired – including the French luminaries Thomas-Louis Bourgeois, Louis Antoine Lefebvre, and Jean-Philippe Rameau; the Neapolitan maestro Domenico Scarlatti, who lived his last 35 years in Spain; and the German-born George Frideric Handel, whose early Italian career left an indelible mark on his masterpieces.

The enchanting realm of Arcadian Dreams abounds with gods and goddesses, shepherds and nymphs, and bucolic dreamscapes creating an aural tapestry of pictorial, secular cantatas intertwined with entrancing instrumental numbers. The fearless young soprano Hannah De Priest, making her recording debut, vividly captures the essence of these beguiling works, alongside the entrepreneurial early music ensemble Les Délices whose members bring long-forgotten music alive for contemporary audiences.

Tracklist:

JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU (1683–1764)
Le Berger Fidèle
01. Récit: Prest à voir immoler
02. Air Plaintif: Faut-il qu’Amarills périsse?
03. Récit: Mais c’est trop me livrer
04. Air gai: L’Amour qui regne dans vos âme
05. Récit: Cependant à l’autel
06. Air vif et gracieux: Charmant Amour

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759)
Mi Palpita il cor 
07. Recit: Mi palpita il cor
08. Aria: Agitata è l’alma mia
09. Recit: Tormento e gelosia
10. Aria: Ho tanti affanni in petto
11. Recit: Clori di te me lagno
12. Aria: S’un di m’adora

TOMASO ALBINONI (1671–1751)
Sonata for oboe & continuo in C major 
13. I. Adagio
14. II. Allegro
15. III. Bourlesque
16. IV. Menuet

THOMAS LOUIS BOURGEOIS (1676-1750)
Diane et Endimion 
17. Récit: Tandis que fatigué
18. Air: Des plus doux plaisirs
19. Récit: Ah! Dit la tendre soeur
20. Air: Une frayeur mortelle

DOMENICO SCARLATTI (1685–1757)
21. Sonata in d minor, K213

LOUIS LEFEBVRE (1700–1763)
Le Lever de l’Aurore 
22. Récit: L’Astre que le silence suit
23. Air leger: L’Olimpe se dore
24. Musette: Jeune Titire, éveillez-vous
25. Récit: Ces amans conduits par l’Amour
26. Air gay: Que vôtre destin à d’appas

LES DÉLICES
Hannah De Priest, soprano
Debra Nagy, baroque oboe
Shelby Yamin & Kako Boga, violins
Rebecca Landell, cello & viola da gamba
Mark Edwards, harpsichord