Cantus Christian-Pierre La Marca

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750):
• 1 Magnificat en mi bémol majeur, BWV 243a: Deposuit potentes 01:52
• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924):
• 2 Requiem en ré mineur, Op. 48: 'Pie Jesu' 03:36
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 3 Passion selon Saint-Matthieu, BWV 244: Erbarme dich, mein Gott 06:06
• John Tavener (1944 - 2013):
• 4 Funeral Ikos 03:22
• Johann Sebastian Bach:
• 5 Magnificat en ré majeur, BWV 243: Et Misericordia 02:59
• 6 Agnus Dei pour choeur et l'Adagio du quatuor, Op. 11: Agnus Dei (Arr. for Cello and Strings Quintet) 07:04
• 7 Stabat Mater, P. 77: Stabat Mater dolorosa 03:52
• 8 Mass, Op. 12: V. Panis Angelicus 03:49
• 9 Stabat Mater, RV 621: Eia Mater, fons amoris 02:51
• 10 Ave Maria 04:42
• 11 Stabat Mater, RV 621: Stabat Mater dolorosa 02:57
• 12 Ave Verum Corpus, K. 618 02:45
• 13 Choral Prelude, BWV 639: Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ 02:40
• 14 Dixit Dominus, HWV 232: De torrente in via bibet 03:10
• 15 Prière, Op. 158 05:47
• 16 Miserere mei Deus (Psaume 50) 06:01
• 17 Enluminures 04:59
• Total Runtime 01:08:32

Info for Cantus

The originality of this album’s programme is its focus on famous sacred pieces transcribed for the warm and lyrical voice of the cello, an instrument whose tone is certainly one of the closest to the singing voice. The words of the Magnificat, Requiem, Stabat Mater or Ave Maria - well known in the repertoire of vocal sacred music - fade here to better reveal the development of musical emotion aroused by the melody itself, and the subtlety of the accompaniments (organ, viola, theorbo, voice) in reinforcing and supporting the expressiveness of the singing. Inspired by sacred texts, the melodies by Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and Pergolesi reveal the strength and intensity of their expression, even without words, and reinforce the idea developed from the late eighteenth century that music, by its power of suggestion and evocation, goes beyond words to express the unspeakable, sometimes with simplicity and depth. From Taverner to Thierry Escaich, and also Allegri, Handel, Franck and Fauré, the recorded repertoire covers a period from the sixteenth to twenty-first century and includes some of the most important names in sacred music.

Christian-Pierre La Marca, cello
Les Ambassadeurs
Alexis Kossenko, conductor

Christian-Pierre La Marca „Young cellist in ascension“ (Diapason), Christian-Pierre La Marca is playing an extensive and challenging repertoire and is described as „a young man who already ranks among the masters of the cello“ (La Croix).

Christian-Pierre began playing the cello in Aix-en-Provence before studying in Paris with Jean-Marie Gamard and Philippe Muller. He continued his education with Frans Helmerson in Cologne, Steven Isserlis in London and alongside attended masterclasses by Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinrich Schiff, Anner Bylsma or Gary Hoffman. Christian-Pierre is encouraged by a circle of prolific artists such as Itzhak Perlman, Thomas Quasthoff, Leif Ove Ansdsnes, Maria Joao Pires, Artemis Quartet or Seiji Ozawa.

Christian-Pierre has performed across the world: Paris (Louvre, Orsay, Salle Pleyel, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Châtelet), Londres (Southbank Center), Bruxelles (Bozar, Flagey), Vienna (Musikverein, Konzerthaus), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Berlin (Philharmonie), Hamburg (Laeizshalle), Frankfurt (Alte Oper), Schwarzenberg (Kaufmann Hall), Genève (Victoria Hall), Monaco (Opéra Garnier), Venice (La Fenice), Saint-Petersburg (Mariinsky Concert Hall), Moscow (Conservatory), New York (92nd), Delhi (Imperial), Osaka (Izumi Hall), Tokyo (Oiji Hall), Melbourne (Arts Center) and Sydney (Angel Place).

He has appeared as a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, Les Siècles, Orchestre de Mulhouse, Orchestre National de Bordeaux-Aquitaine, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Wiener Concert-Verein, Sinfonia Varsovia, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Slovak National Radio Orchestra, Malaga Philharmonic, Kunming Symphony Orchestra, barock ensembles Les Ambassadeurs and Il Giardino Armonico under the baton of François-Xavier Roth, Emmanuel Krivine, Augustin Dumay, Pascal Rophé, Gérard Korsten, Christopher Warren-Green, Antoni Ros-Marba, Clemens Schuldt, Giovani Antonini or Alexis Kossenko.

Highly sought after in chamber music, Christian-Pierre plays with Renaud Capuçon, Augustin Dumay, Lawrence Power, Edgar Moreau, Michel Portal, Romain Guyot, Thierry Escaich, Lise de la Salle, Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, Adam Laloum, Cédric Tiberghien, Jean-Marc Luisada, Eric Le Sage, Philippe Cassard, David Kadouch, Jean Rondeau, Modigliani, Carducci, Hermès Quartets and singers Philippe Jaroussky, Bernarda Fink, Julie Fuchs, Karine Deshayes, Isabelle Druet, Patricia Petibon at major festivals (Verbier, Ravinia, Santander, Bad Kissingen, Meklenburg Vorpommern, Trondheim, Oxford, Printemps des Arts in Monaco, Pablo Casals, Aix-en-Provence, La Roque d’Anthéron, La Grange de Meslay, Auvers-sur-Oise, La Folle Journée in Nantes, Saintes, Montpellier, Menton...). Christian-Pierre is a founding member of the renowned Trio Dali, very active on the international scene, and actively promotes contemporary music collbarotating with composers including Peteris Vasks, Gyorgy Kurtag, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Hersant, Olivier Greif, Jean-Louis Florentz or Nicolas Bacri.

An exclusive recording artist for Sony Classical, his discography includes the complete Bach Cello Suites, unanimously praised by international press (« there is [...] a sovereign sense of balance, a kind of natural classicism which makes pointless any quarrel of style And all this at 29, in the cellists’s Bible ! » Le Figaro) and L'Heure Exquise, a tribute to the French melody. His new album (2016), Cantus, offers a reinterpretation of the sacred repertoire, cleverly comprising original works and transcriptions from pieces by Bach, Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Fauré or Barber, with Les Ambassadeurs under Alexis Kossenko and Thierry Escaich, Adrien La Marca, Philippe Jaroussky, Patricia Petibon. His recordings with the Trio Dali have all been acclaimed by critics. The latest, devoted to Mendelssohn trios, recently received a 'CHOC' Classica ("We stay in admiration in front of the supreme elegance of their playing, powerful and non grandiloquent").

Christian-Pierre curates with his brother Adrien La Marca the Artistic Direction of « Les Musicales de Pommiers » festival. He is also Artistic Adviser of « Les Concerts de la Gaité » at the Theater La Gaité-Montparnasse in Paris.

He plays a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello from 1856.