Marc-Antoine Charpentier (c. 1636-1704):
Ouverture & Air "Que tout cede aux douceurs de mes, Accords charmants!”, Air “Amour, viens animer ma voix!”, Concert pour quatre parties de violes

Marin Marais (1656-1728):
Muzette, Le Moulinet

Francois Couperin (1688-1733):
Sonate La Sultanne

Antoine Forqueray (1672-1745):
La Régente

Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687):
Trios de la chambre du Roi

Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Forqueray (1699-1782):
Suite (Fragment)

Robert de Visée (c. 1660-1732):
Prélude Assez de pleurs & Chaconne

Louis Couperin (c.1626-1661):
Chaconne ou Passacaille /.Michel L’Affilard (ed., c. 1656-1708):
Air “Quel martire”, Air “Viens avec moi”

Luigi Rossi (c. 1598-1653):
Les pleurs d’Orphée

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (1667-1737):
Air “Le Triomfe de la Constance”

Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726):
Chaconne “Les Fontaines de Versailles”

The present recording is an invitation to experience the music played in every area of conflict between the court‘s display of splendour, of love, lust and immorality. Composers have been chosen, who wrote for the court of Versailles – for Louis XIV and his successors. An imaginary story gives it its framework: A young provincial beauty comes to the court, is presented to the King and becomes his favourite, falls into disgrace through the intrigues of her rivals, but finally retrieves her honour.

The different pieces comment in music on the respective situation, even if the composer had perhaps not had in mind exactly the same associations as those suggested by our story. In general this CD follows the hypothetical idea that music is the mirror of daily life – and even of the Baroque concept of always looking for a hidden sense beneath the surface of a work of art.