Rameau: Zoroastre 1749

“Some of France’s best early-music singers and a splendid period-instrument band make this Zoroastre a perfect introduction to the pleasures of Baroque music.”

***** Coup de cœur

Exceptional Album

Editor’s Choice – February 2023

“… It’s a ravishing score, brought to vivid life by their playing, and the quality of the soloists, each of them quite at home in the baroque, is often staggering. This set’s not just for the specialists.” ****

“… With his effortless top notes and superb breath control, the haute-contre Reinoud Van Mechelen makes an ideal Zoroastre…another triumph.”

“… It’s the great musical set pieces, especially the occult rites that take up most of the fourth act in a dazzling sequence of choruses and dances, that are the most compelling parts of the score, and provide most of the moments when Kossenko’s performance really catches fire. There are outstanding individual performances, too: Reinoud van Mechelen, suitably charismatic in the title role; Tassis Christoyannis, as a pantomime villain Abramane; Jodie Devos as a sweetly lyrical Amélite; and Véronique Gens as the scheming Érinice…” ****

Performance *****      Recording ****

“… The chorus and line-up of soloists is first-rate, with a suitably menacing Abramane (Tassis Christoyannis) and a witchy Érince (Véronique Gens); with a gorgeously pure-toned Amélite (Jodie Devos), and an expressive and clarion-voices Zoroastre (Reinoud van Mechelen). The instrumental numbers (notably the sarabands) are beautifully done, with the weather – lashings of thunder and lightning – forcefully dramatized throughout.”