New Chamber Opera's CD of stage music by the French baroque master, Marc-Antoine Charpentier, the great rival to Lully consists of two sets of incidental music with songs and choruses to two plays by great French dramatists.

The first set will be that to Raymond Poisson's play, Les Fous divertissants (usually translated as The Amusing Crazies) premièred in 1680. The music includes a variety of amusing pieces including a laughing trio, and a scene in which the musicians of the intermèdes become entangled with the characters in the comedy.

The second set is the music to Le Mariage Forcé was composed for Moliere's 1672 performances at the Palais-Royal, Moliere being prevented by Lully's privilege from using any of the original music, commissioned a new score from Charpentier. No edition of the 1672 play exists, and the music has to interpreted using the 1664 text.

 John Bernays,  bass  *  Rachel Elliott,  soprano

 Christopher Hurndall Smith, tenor  *  Gary Cooper,  director

Charpentier: Le Mariage force

 ASV CD GAU 167