Lucile Richardot & Ensemble Correspondances, Baroque under northern lights

Terwijl Lodewijk XIV drenched Versailles in gold and grandeur, the Swedish court under Gustav XI looked curiously across the borders. Under his reign, chapel master Gustav Düben built a collection that is known today as the Düben archives: a treasure trove with works by German, Italian, and local composers. Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances reconstruct that sound world with an ensemble that matches that of the original court ensemble: strings, recorder, continuo, and vocal quartet. German, Latin, Italian, and Swedish intermingle in music that is just as worldly as the court for which it was written – a perfect fit for mezzo Lucile Richardot and her dark timbre that effortlessly switches between lamento and subdued devotion. Van Johann Christian Bach to Franz Tunder to Giuseppe Peranda: this baroque music is top-class, and it glitters in the northern light.