The magnificence of the music and dance productions mounted in the monarchical courts of the 17th century is hard to imagine today, let alone reproduce. Indeed, conductor Sébastien Daucé reflects in the giant hardback book accompanying the two CDs here that "I was of course strongly tempted to attempt a literal reconstruction, but the lavish forces and splendour it would demand...made this an impossible prospect." Nevertheless, what you get here is an imaginative representation of one of the most famous musical events of ...
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The magnificence of the music and dance productions mounted in the monarchical courts of the 17th century is hard to imagine today, let alone reproduce. Indeed, conductor Sébastien Daucé reflects in the giant hardback book accompanying the two CDs here that "I was of course strongly tempted to attempt a literal reconstruction, but the lavish forces and splendour it would demand...made this an impossible prospect." Nevertheless, what you get here is an imaginative representation of one of the most famous musical events of the century, the Concert Royal de la Nuit , the Royal Evening Concert, of February 23, 1653. It was "royal" in two senses: the young Louis XIV, the Sun King, not only witnessed the production but danced in it, as Apollo. The concert was a gigantic event, comprising singing, dancing, programmatic instrumental music, and choral numbers, all of them organized into four "veilles," or watches, four acts that correspond to phenomena and activities of the night like romantic interludes...
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