Virginie Thomas
79:00
encelade ECL2502
Virginie Thomas has established a reputation as something of a specialist nymph (!), and with good reason. Here she effortlessly inhabits the persona and repertoire of Mademoiselle Hilaire Dupuis, sister-in-law of Michel Lambert and a key member of Lully’s troupe. He married her niece, and one can only speculate as to the nature of daily life and conversation in the house they all shared!
The programme offers a musical biography of the singer and involves both other singers and an instrumental ensemble (five-part strings and a continuo team). Being fussy, I have to observe that some numbers really are orchestral rather than chamber in their conception, but perhaps this is how the music was sometimes heard in the household referred to above.
No individual items stand out: the strength here is the programme as a whole, and it is well supported by the booklet, which gives contexts and texts/translations. If this is the kind of themed project you want to do, do it like this.
David Hansell