Author: Marie-Nicole Lemieux

Format: Remixes included

Release Date: 2013-01-29

Details: “Marie-Nicole Lemieux is a voice and a heart. (Christophe Rizoud, Forum Opera) A few notes from the velvety contralto of Marie-Nicole Lemieux are enough to fall under the spell. Unique timbre, innate sense of the musical line, taming of the texts from the inside, astonishing charisma, apparent ease in all repertoires, remarkable stage presence, the singer seems to have all the assets. The career of the one who now performs on major stages around the world was to take off in 2000, when she won, almost in quick succession, the Joseph-Rouleau Competition and the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium. First milestones on a course that would quickly become stellar. We find it here in a compilation bringing together some of the most beautiful pages recorded on the Analekta label, signed Scarlatti, Handel, Vivaldi and Brahms. Handel's sixty cantatas brilliantly demonstrate his extraordinary creativity. Long melismas underline the key words, ornaments and vocal chromaticism revealing the dramatic, almost operatic colors of these works. Vivaldi's Stabat Mater plunges the listener into a somber universe, far removed from that of his dazzling concertos. It becomes a song taking between prayer and tears, pain and acceptance, in which the voice hovers above the both heartbreaking and magnificent themes of the strings. According to legend, Scarlatti's Salve Regina was dictated by the composer on his deathbed. The delicately expressive musical treatment of this plea reads like a farewell to life, but also to Queen Maria Barbara whom he had served for many years. Over the decades, Brahms would tirelessly return to writing lieder. A more concerted gesture of emotional outpouring for this loner, a secret garden to cultivate (he also called his collections “bouquets of songs”)? He will evoke in turn the bite of unrequited love, loneliness, the finitude of existence or the appeasement that nature gives him. “Marie-Nicole Lemieux is a voice and a heart.” (Christophe Rizoud, Forum Opera) Just a few notes of Marie-Nicole Lemieux's velvety contralto is all it takes to fall under her spell. With her unique timbre, innate sense of musical line, profound mastery of text, astonishing charm, apparent ease in all repertoires, and remarkable stage presence, Lemieux seems to have it all. Her career, which now extends to all of the world's great stages, first flowered in 2000, when she won the Joseph-Rouleau Competition and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium almost back to back. These were the first milestones in what would become a meteoric rise. This compilation features some of the most beautiful works she has recorded for Analekta by composers such as Scarlatti, Handel, Vivaldi, and Brahms. The sixty-odd cantatas by Handel are a brilliant testament to his creativity. Key words are highlighted with long melismas, and the ornaments and vocal chromaticism reveal the almost opera-like drama of these works. Vivaldi's Stabat Mater takes listeners into a dark world that is miles away from his dazzling concerti. A captivating lament somewhere between prayer and tears, between pain and acceptance, the voice soars above the magnificent and at times heart-rending music of the strings. Legend has it that Scarlatti dictated his Salve Regina on his deathbed. The delicately expressive treatment of this supplication reads like an “adieu” to life but also to Queen Maria Barbara, whom he had served for many years. Over the decades, Brahms would return time and time again to the lied. A solitary man, perhaps he considered it a more intensely emotional form of expression, his secret garden (he called his collections of lieder “bouquets of songs”). By turns, he could evoke the sting of unrequited love, solitude, the finality of existence, and nature's solace.

UPC: 774204976323

EAN: 0774204976323

Languages: english

Binding: Audio CD

Item Condition: UsedVeryGood