Legros, haute-contre de Gluck Reinoud Van Mechelen & A Nocte Temporis

• Jean-Benjamin de La Borde (1734 - 1794): Thétis et Pelée:
• 1Borde: Thétis et Pelée: Ouverture02:30
• 2Borde: Thétis et Pelée, Act I: Que mon destin est déplorable03:19
• 3Borde: Thétis et Pelée, Act III: Ciel ! en voyant ce temple redoutable05:19
• Pierre-Montan Berton (1727 - 1780): Sylvie:
• 4Berton: Sylvie: Conduisez ces captifs02:54
• 5Berton: Sylvie: Air pour les cyclopes01:46
• 6Berton: Sylvie: Air gracieux01:59
• Jean-Claude Trial (1732 - 1771): La fête de Flore:
• 7Trial: La fête de Flore: Amour, si tu te plais à ma douleur mortelle03:11
• Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714 - 1787): Iphigénie en Aulide, Wq. 40:
• 8Gluck: Iphigénie en Aulide, Wq. 40: Ouverture03:23
• Iphigénie en Aulide, Wq. 40, Act II:
• 9Gluck: Iphigénie en Aulide, Wq. 40, Act II: J'obtiens l'objet que j'aime02:55
• Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41, Act I:
• 10Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41, Act I: Accablé de regrets03:51
• 11Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41, Act II: Ballet des ombres heureuses03:40
• 12Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41, Act II: Quel nouveau ciel pare ces lieux !03:56
• 13Gluck: Orphée et Eurydice, Wq. 41, Act III: Malheureux, qu'ai-je fait… J'ai perdu mon Eurydice04:23
• François-Joseph Gossec (1734 - 1829): Alexis et Daphné:
• 14Gossec: Alexis et Daphné: Loin de ces bois charmants à regret entraîné02:21
• 15Gossec: Alexis et Daphné: Vers le sommet de la montagne02:50
• André-Modeste Gretry (1741 - 1813): Céphale et Procris, Act II:
• 16Gretry: Céphale et Procris, Act II: Parais, mortel amoureux02:54
• Céphale et Procris:
• 17Gretry: Céphale et Procris: Ballet des Nymphes de Diane03:32
• 18Gretry: Céphale et Procris: Contredanse01:17
• Céphale et Procris, Act II:
• 19Gretry: Céphale et Procris, Act II: Déesse des beaux jours02:16
• Joseph Legros (1739 - 1793): Hylas et Églé:
• 20Legros: Hylas et Églé: C'est ici que j'ai vu pour la première fois02:06
• Niccolò Piccinni (1728 - 1800): Atys, Act II:
• 21Piccinni: Atys, Act II: Ô funeste amitié ! Confiance accablante !06:08
• Johann Christian Bach (1735 - 1782): Amadis de Gaule, W.G 39:
• 22Bach: Amadis de Gaule, W.G 39: Largo02:04
• Christoph Willibald Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride, Wq. 46, Act II:
• 23Gluck: Iphigénie en Tauride, Wq. 46, Act II: Quel langage accablant pour un ami qui t'aime !03:34
• Total Runtime01:12:08

Info for Legros, haute-contre de Gluck

Tenor Reinoud Van Mechelen concludes his trilogy dedicated to hautes-contre with "Legros, haute-contre de Gluck". Joseph Legros (1739-1793) was a singer at the Paris Opéra, renowned for his extraordinary musical abilities, wide range and brilliant high notes. “His contemporaries appreciated the fact that his vocal delivery was not forced and that his taste was less mannered than that of his predecessors. His pronunciation was perfect and his face pleasing, although he did not cut a graceful figure and his stage acting left something to be desired” writes Benoit Dratwicki, of the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, which is a partner in this series... Legros sparked renewed interest among modern composers for the haute-contre voice. The first to write for him were La Borde, Trial and Berton. Then came Gossec (Alexis et Daphné) and Grétry (Céphale et Procris). In 1774, Gluck's arrival in Paris marked a turning point in Legros's career: he made a name for himself in Orphée et Eurydice , caused a sensation in Iphigénie en Aulide and Iphigénie en Tauride ... The title roles in Amadis de Gaule by J. C. Bach and Piccinni's Atys were the last roles in which he shone. After Legros, the haute-contre voice gradually disappeared, giving way to that of the "true tenor", a more powerful voice, but one that had difficulty tackling the high register of the old repertoire...

Reinoud van Mechelen, Tenor
A Nocte Temporis

A nocte temporis
Latin translation of the French expression “depuis la nuit des temps”, which means “from time immemorial”. A nod towards the past, towards what is changing, and especially also towards what remains unchanged.

After several years of activity as a soloist with conductors such as William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Hervé Niquet, Christophe Rousset, and many others, Reinoud Van Mechelen founds his own ensemble in 2016. His goal is to present historically informed music as well as to emotionally touch an as large audience as possible. For this purpose he surrounds himself with musicians who share this passion with him and who are ready to take up this challenge.

In 2016 he records with a nocte temporis a program dedicated to Bach arias for tenor and flute for the label Alpha Classics (Outhere). In the 16/17 season, they will present this program during concerts in many cities, including Warsaw, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Pavia.

Reinoud Van Mechelen
Since he completed his master studies in 2012 at the Conservatoire Royal in Brussels (class of Dina Grossberger), Reinoud Van Mechelen has established himself on the international stage.

In 2007 he caught attention at the Académie Baroque Européenne in Ambronay under the baton of Hervé Niquet. In 2011 he was a member of the "Jardin des Voix" of William Christie and Paul Agnew and became soon a regular soloist of Les Arts florissants. With Les Arts florissants he has performed at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Edinburgh Festival, the Château de Versailles, the Bolchoï Theatre in Moscow, the Royal Albert Hall and the Barbican Centre in London, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Philharmonie in Paris, the Opéra Comique and the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

At the same time he is a guest with international ensembles such as Collegium Vocale, Le Concert Spirituel, La Petite Bande, Les Talens Lyriques, Pygmalion, Le Poème Harmonique, Il Gardellino, Insula Orchestra, L’Arpeggiata, Ludus Modalis, B’Rock, Ricercar Consort, Capriccio Stravagante, Scherzi Musicali, European Union Baroque Orchestra.

In 2014 Reinoud Van Mechelen performed his first Evangelist in J.S. Bach's Johannespassionwith the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. The season after he made his debut in a title role in an opera by Rameau, Dardanus, at the Opéra national de Bordeaux.

In 2016/17 he will be debuting at the Zürich Opera in Charpentier's Médée(Jason) under the baton of William Christie. He will go a significant way ahead in extending his repertoire performing in concert Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris and Gérald (Lakmé) with the Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio.

Reinoud Van Mechelen has tooken part in several CD and DVD produktions. In 2016 he is recording his first solo CD for Alpha Classics (J. S. Bach Program, release scheduled in fall 2016).

Booklet for Legros, haute-contre de Gluck