Gaudete Ensemble Eamonn Dougan - Ave Generosa - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Paris discovered Massenet's Griselidis at the Opera-Comique on 20 November 1901. The work is based on a medieval folktale retold by Boccaccio and Perrault, among others, and already set to music several times in the Baroque era. It gave Massenet the opportunity to handle the 'Gothic' colouring of which the early twentieth century could not get enough. The inventive libretto by Armand Silvestre and Eugene Morand explores unusually contrasted registers the religious, the fantastical, the sentimental and the warlike. Above all, the presence of a scene-stealing Devil, saddled with a cantankerous wife, offers the possibility of contrasting the serious (or sublime) and the comic (or grotesque). Massenet thus produced a rare example of cross-genre equilibrium, a jewel of French demi-caractere, typical of the Opera-Comique repertory. Although the opera renounces spoken dialogue, theatrical declamation nevertheless creeps into a few particularly successful scenes. Two magnificent baritone roles - the Marquis and the Devil - oppose each other with the full trappings of Romantic vocality, while Griselidis makes a noble and introspective heroine, the perfect model of the French soprano.

Schola Gothia - Gaudete in Domino [COMPACT DISCS] date 04/08/2008

Margaret Rizza sang professionally for twenty-five years before teaching at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She has directed music groups making many recordings. She began composing in 1997 and has since earned huge admiration for her 'Classical Contemporary' sound world works of spiritual contemplation and great beauty. Hers is music of great spiritual depth and whether a cappella or for vocal and instrumental forces it generates a sense of lyricism and healing resolution.