Couperin: Lecons De Tenebres

Lucy Crowe (soprano) & Elizabeth Watts (sopranos) La Nuova Musica, David Bates

Brossard: Stabat Mater Couperin, F: Trois Leçons de Ténèbres

François Couperin's 'Leçons de Ténèbres' (c. 1713-17), a setting of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, fused devotional expression with a dramatic performing style embodied here by sopranos Lucy Crowe and Elizabeth Watts. Two Trio Sonatas and a 'Stabat Mater' by Sébastien de Brossard round out this luminous programme. La Nuova Musica was founded by its artistic director David Bates in 2007 whilst in residency at Snape Maltings and was hailed by BBC Radio 3 as “one of the most exciting consorts in the early music field”. They are regular contributors at Aldeburgh Music, St John’s Smith Square, London Handel Festival, Wigmore Hall and Spitalfields Music. Highlights of 2015 were a performance of 'Acis and Galatea' at SJSS which received a 5* review in The Times, describing it as “a reading that sparkled from the giddy overture to the consoling final chorus” followed by a concert performance of Cesti’s 'Orontea', where “Bates’ conducting had superb poise, and the cast was impeccable, with not a weak link anywhere” (The Guardian). In 2016 LNM will also record Pergolesi's 'Stabat Mater' and Bach Cantatas with Lucy Crowe and Tim Mead. Concert performance highlights for 2016 include Handel’s 'Berenice' at the Göttingen Internationale Händel Festspiele; their debut at the Salzburg Festival with Bejun Mehta; and an exciting collaboration with American choreographer Zack Winokur on Purcell’s 'Dido and Aeneas' at the Brighton International Festival, with Dame Ann Murray singing the title role.

Price: $22.98