ATMA Classique is delighted to release the world premiere recording of David Bontemps’ 2020 chamber opera La Flambeau, based on the eponymous drama by Haitian playwright Faubert Bolivar. La Flambeau was premiered on February 7, 2023 at Montréal’s Salle Pierre-Mercure with Suzanne Taffot, Catherine Daniel, Paul Williamson and Brandon Coleman and the Orchestre classique de Montréal, conducted by Alain Trudel.Set in Haiti, the libretto for La Flambeau was adapted by Bontemps himself. La Flambeau tells the story of a dysfunctional couple, Monsieur (a narcissistic, ambitious intellectual obsessed with the ideals of the Republic) and Mademoiselle (who talks to her dead parents), who hire a working-class housewife. Through imposed dogma and deceptive behaviour, Monsieur abuses Mademoiselle. After a trial and a surreal confession, Monsieur is condemned through a kind of popular justice to become a zombie at the service of all.

With her latest recording, Origami, pianist Louise Bessette unveils a few pages from the musical journal of Montreal composer Anthony Rozankovic.His "origami music" or "score sculptures" are alternately dissonant, syncopated, consonant, lyrical, or chaotic, according to film producer Carl Leblanc, author of the album's liner notes.11 of the 16 sixteen pieces on Origami started out as film music, with the composer conveying intense emotions – from the fate of migrants (Errance) to a greeting card in the form of a paper bouquet at Auschwitz (Origami). Among the other works are four concert pieces including Mosaique therianthropique and La Jungle jongle, composed for Louise Bessette.

The French spirit of the "Grand Siecle des Lumieres" shines through this new album with Arion Orchestre Baroque, conducted by Mathieu Lussier.Taking its name from a work composed by Michel-Richard Delalande, Les soupers du roy (The King's Supper) features works by French baroque composers including Andre Cardinal Destouches, Francois Colin de Blamont, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and Francois Francoeur.All the scores used for this recording come from the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (CMBV), thanks to an exceptional partnership between Arion Orchestre Baroque and the CMBV.Under the auspices of Hotel des Menus-Plaisirs in Versailles, the collaboration between Arion and CMBV combines the expertise required to rediscover and promote French musical heritage of the 17th and 18th centuries. A cornerstone of Montreal's music scene for over forty years, Arion Baroque Orchestra is a pioneer in the Canadian world of early music on period instruments.

For his latest ATMA Classique recording, horn player Louis-Philippe Marsolais has chosen a selection of chamber music by Clara and Robert Schumann composed for various instruments, some of which have been transcribed for horn. He is joined by pianists Philip Chiu and David Jalbert, and cellists Stéphane Tétreault and Cameron Crozman.

Pour célébrer les 80 ans de l’un des compositeurs vivants les plus réputés du Québec, la pianiste Louise Bessette présente Hommage à François Dompierre : un album de musique pour piano incluant plusieurs des œuvres composées pour le cinéma, quelques œuvres inédites, et des pièces pour deux pianos avec le compositeur lui-même au deuxième piano. À souligner également, la pièce « Entre mer et chanterelles » écrite pour Louise Bessette en hommage au compositeur Gilles Tremblay et « Un bonheur d’occasion », un duo particulier dans lequel François Dompierre improvise, et Louise Bessette joue une partition écrite par le compositeur.La musique de Dompierre englobe un large éventail de styles et de genres, du classique au jazz en passant par les bandes originales de films, et l’album hommage de Louise Bessette devrait plaire à un grand nombre de mélomanes.

Calcutta 1789 – À la croisée de l’Europe et de l’Inde, le nouvel album de Notturna, est un portrait fascinant de la vie musicale en Inde au XVIIIe siècle, pendant la période coloniale britannique. Sous la direction de Christopher Palameta, le programme associe la musique indienne traditionnelle à des œuvres de Purcell, Handel, J. C. Bach et d’autres compositeurs européens. Les instrumentistes de Notturna sont rejoints par la sonorité voluptueuse du sitar, joué par Uwe Neumann, et du tabla, joué par Shawn Mativetsky.Inspiré d’un programme de concert de 1789 découvert dans les archives de Calcutta, l’enregistrement reconstitue le riche échange culturel qui s’est développé entre les musiciens indiens et anglais amenés en Inde dans l’entourage de la Compagnie britannique des Indes Orientales.

ATMA Classique est ravie de présenter Anguille sous roche, le premier enregistrement de la dernière mouture du célèbre duo de violes Les Voix humaines. Le nouveau binôme est composé de Mélisande Corriveau, qui succède à la cofondatrice du duo, Margaret Little, et de Susie Napper. Corriveau et Napper se produisent ensemble depuis deux décennies en tant que membres du Consort Les Voix humaines. Toutes deux jouent sur des violes historiques du luthier londonien Barak Norman.

The newest recording by the Juno-Award winning Ottawa Bach Choir on the ATMA Classique label, features six Motets by J.S Bach: Singet dem Herrn, BWV 225; Der Geist hilft, BWV 226; Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227; Fürchte dich nicht, BWV 228; Komm, Jesu, komm, BWV 229; and Lobet den Herrn, BWV 230. The choir is accompanied by an expanded baroque continuo, featuring Jonathan Oldengarm, organist; Matthew Larkin, harpsichord; Lucas Harris, theorbo; Jean-Christophe Lizotte, cello; and Reuven Rothman, double bass.

Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after and respected ensemble directors, soloists and chamber music partners of his generation. His CD of harpsichord works by Scarlatti on ATMA was well reviewed. Here he turns his attention to the works of Bach including the French Overture BWV 831 and the Italian Concerto BWV 971.

The artistic concept for this CD is a recording comprised entirely of contemporary Canadian works for choral ensemble written during the past thirty-five years. All the works chosen have resonated deeply with audiences and the ensemble and include compositions by Raminsch, Schafer and Lang. The ensemble’s intimate and distinctive-sounding interpretations are a central aspect of its style.

Pianist Sheng Cai devotes his latest recording to piano works by the renowned Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. Dedicated to composer Aleksandr Zatayevich and revised in 1940, Six moments musicaux, Op. 16 represents a turning point in Rachmaninoff's writing for solo piano. Abandoning the conventions of salon music, the work is imbued with heightened Romanticism and technical complexity. Rachmaninoff's Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 overflows with intertwined countermelodies in the style of Robert Schumann and with its astonishing virtuosity, follows in the footsteps of Franz Liszt. Rachmaninoff and his friend, the celebrated pianist Vladimir Horowitz, enjoyed transcribing celebrated opera arias, allowing themselves the freedom to change their interpretations spontaneously. It is in this same spirit that Sheng Cai transcribed and performs the piano transcription of the opera Aleko. "I try to create new sounds and colors on the piano which differ from[those in] the orchestral versions of these scores," says Cai. Long attributed to Rachmaninoff, the Polka de W. R. is in fact by German composer Franz Behr (1837-1898). In 1911, Rachmaninoff made this brilliant arrangement of his father's favorite polka. Sheng Cai studied at Shanghai Conservatory of Music and was a top prize winner at the 1998 National Competition. The following year, his family immigrated to Canada where he began studying at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. He earned his Bachelor of Music Degree under full scholarship at New England Conservatory in Boston. His most important teachers include legendary pianists Anton Kuerti and Russell Sherman.

This wonderful disc is a collaboration between Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer (an a cappella ensemble that specializes in the traditional songs of Quebec and Acadia) and La Nef (a trio that specializes in both early and contemporary classical music). The title refers to the crossing of waters both great and small by centuries of sailors; the program combines traditional seafaring songs with accounts of the Seven Years' War and its attendant sea battles. Many of the songs are in the unison, call-and-response style that will be familiar to fans of traditional Quebecois music, and sound very much like early recordings by La Bottine Souriante accompanied by a string section.

Le hautboïste canadien Vincent Boilard s’entoure du Quatuor Molinari pour un premier album solo consacré à des œuvres de compositeurs canadiens contemporains. Les pièces Searching for Sophia d’Elizabeth Raum, Serenata da Camera, op. 19 de Stewart Grant, In the Stillness of the Summer Wind de Brian Cherney et Requiem Parentibus, op. 34 de Michael Parker constituent le programme musical de cet album audacieux et moderne.

For once the hyperbole rings true. Christian Leotta’s fourth volume of Beethoven sonatas is indeed ‘a major addition to other sets currently available’. Musicianly to the core, this young Italian pianist quietly but unmistakably commands your attention at every level. His musical focus and concentration are unswerving, nothing is rushed or overly volatile, everything is scrupulously placed yet illuminated with acute detail and vitality. You will rarely encounter performances more meticulously prepared.

Le pianiste italien Christian Leotta nous revient avec le volume 3 de son intégrale des 32 sonates pour piano de Beethoven. Il a fait de ce corpus une spécialité. Ce CD double contient notamment les sonates pour piano No. 17 en ré mineur op. 31 No. 2 “ La Tempête” et la No. 31 en la bémol majeur op. 110, ainsi que quelques sonates des premiers opus.