Search - Various :: Tous Les Matins Du Monde

"Tous les matins du monde sont sans retour"

Sanpete | in Utah | 08/10/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the soundtrack from a French film, a fictionalized account of a real-life master of the viola da gamba (a precursor of the cello) who figuratively sells his soul for temporal success. The line I've quoted from the film, from which the title derives, translates literally, "All the mornings of the world are without return," meaning they never come back. The movie centers on the regret that line can imply, and that may explain in part the overall mood of this music, much of which is easy to interpret as full of regret and longing. Whether you experience it that way or simply as meditative and intense, as performed here it's some of the most ravishingly beautiful music on record.



The rich, pungent tones of the viola da gamba, played by Jordi Savall, are the main feature of this CD. Savall is an acknowledged master of the instrument, and of this music. In quick passages he plays effortlessly; in the more expansive passages he caresses each note like it too will never return. The music is varied, including a celebratory introduction, but the more meditative mood predominates. Savall is joined on about half the tracks by a few other choice players in various combinations, with harpsichord, theorbo (a lute-like instrument of low range), violin, and/or second viola da gamba. The first track is the only one to include an entire (small) orchestra. Two tracks include vocals by Savall's wife Montserrat Figueras and Maria Cristina Kiehr.



The music is mostly by the two composers whose relationship is the focus of the movie, the mysterious Sainte-Colombe (c 1630-c 1700) and Marin Marais (1656-1728), with a few pieces by near contemporaries, and one by Savall.



This recording was a surprise hit, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, very unusual for a classical album. People who had never heard of music like this fell in love with it right alongside afficionados.



There is now a 2-disc remastered reissue of this CD with more recently recorded music along the same lines on the second disc (here--there are also samples from the music at that link)."