LA CONTESA DE’NUMI ANTONIO CALDARA

Caroline de Mahieu (mezzo-soprano), Julie Vercauteren (soprano), Morgane Heyse (soprano,

Rémy Bres Feuillet (countertenor), Samuel Namotte (baritone)

Concerto Soave

Organ, harpsichord and musical direction: Jean-Marc Aymes

THE TALE OF NUMI (THE QUESTION OF THE GODS)

MUSIC BY ANTONIO CALDARA (1670-1736)

Libretto by Nicola Giuseppe Prescimonio (1669- 1732)

Represented in Prague in 1723

THE MUSIC OF CALDARA IS HERE RICH, MELODIOUS AND ORNATE.

Creation a few days before Namur at the Théâtre de La Criée in Marseille

Discord on top of Olympus! Mars, Pallas, Apollo and Juno argue. Jupiter, attracted by their altercation, appears to reconcile them from the height of his almighty power.

Antonio Caldara, the greatest Italian composer of his time, transforms this game into a dazzling musical masterpiece: in each of their arias, the gods compete in virtuosity,

tenderness or pleasure, until the final harmony.

Written to the glory of the Austrian Emperor Charles VI, in whose service Caldara worked, this Contesa de ’Numi, a true musical feast, is above all a declaration of love to the composer's favorite singers. From baroque "to the highest of Heaven"!

GREAT FINESSE

Jean-Marc Aymes and Concerto Soave were loyalists of the Choeur and the Festival Musical de Namur in the 2000s.

They have since developed a major festival in Marseille, Mars en Baroque. Thanks to a Sandrine Piau Masterclass with the young singers of the Namur choir, we found them in better shape than ever.

Jean-Marc Aymes is a very fine musician who always surrounds himself with excellent instrumentalists.