Rigel:
Blanche et Vermeille, comedie pastorale Ouverture
Ruisseau charmant (Blanche)
Ici pour la premiere fois (Le Prince)
Je vous entends, infidele (Blanche, Colin)
Concerto for Fortepiano in F Major
Symphony in G Major, Op.12 No 2
Pauline et Henri, trait historique mele de musique

"Performed with a particular refinement and precision, the phrasing always carefully nuanced - a most compelling program" The WholeNote, about Les soupers du Roy.

Following the release of last year's album Les soupers du Roy, Arion Orchestre Baroque presents Rigel: Le souffle de la Revolution, devoted to rarely recorded vocal and instrumental works by classical composer Henri-Joseph Rigel (1741-1799).

Presented as the second project in collaboration with the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (CMBV), the recording features soloists Magali Simard-Galdes (soprano), Nicholas Scott (tenor), and Melisande McNabney (fortepiano), all under the direction of Mathieu Lussier, conductor and artistic director of Arion Orchestre Baroque. Rigel's works include excerpts from the pastoral comedy Blanche et Vermeille, the lyric drama Alix Beaucaire, a Sonata and a Concerto for pianoforte, and the Symphony in G Major, Op. 12, No. 12. All the scores for this recording were edited by Mathieu Lussier and by the Centre de musique baroque de Versailles (CMBV).

With support from the Hotel des Menus-Plaisirs de Versailles, this exceptional collaboration between Arion Orchestre Baroque and the CMBV brings together all the skills needed 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. Since 2019, bassoonist Mathieu Lussier has been the ensemble's principal conductor and artistic director.

'These pieces alone advance our knowledge of Rigel's music, but this release offers a special treat by being the first to investigate his operas.' – Gramophone