Le Jardin Secret is a young ensemble that won both first prize and the audience prize in the 2007 Early Music Network International Young Artists’ Competition in York, UK. It’s easy to hear why; there’s a real vibrancy and freshness to these performances that compels one to hit the ‘repeat’ button for virtually every track.
Although an impossible task, this beautifully presented disc attempts to survey the music of the 15th-century court of the Dukes of Savoy, who were lavish patrons of the arts, especially music. Duke Amadeus VIII is remembered for his election as the antipope Felix V in 1439, but he also brought Guillaume Dufay to Savoy. Dufay’s Par le regard de vos beaux yeux is performed, as are several works in the programme, by the excellent countertenor Christophe Carré, and gothic harpist, Marie Bournisien.
The title refers to the poisonous snake that caused some trouble in the Garden of Eden, the subject of an aria from a cantata by Jayme Torrens. Torrens is just one of a host of highly engaging composers heard on this excellent recording of 18th-century Spanish sacred music. Works by Iribarren, Vidal, Lagos and Delgado round out this marvelously eclectic and deliriously melodic program.
