As with his sacred works, the cantatas of the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), from a relatively small part of his oeuvre, and are less well known and performed than his main corpus of dramatic works. Despite this the cantatas, dating from between 1718 and 1728, are interesting, not least because their character is so different to much of Rameau's other work, all being Italian in character.

The recording by NCO uses new editions of the pieces by Mary Cyr, and is the first collected recording of the cantatas. It includes the two versions of Aquilon et Orinthie (Rameau's published text being shorter) and the alternative aria for the Cantate pour la fete de Saint Louis. The disc is available with notes and translations by Lionel Sawkins.

Rachel Elliott,  soprano  *  James Gilchrist, tenor  *  

Roderick Williams, baritone  *  Thomas Guthrie, bass

Gary Cooper,  director

Rameau: Complete Cantatas

 ASV CD GAX 234