The Royal Dance

Ostensibly a film soundtrack album for the French film Le Roi Danse directed by Gerard Corbiau, this serves equally well as a showcase for the music of Jean-Baptiste Lully. The performers throughout are Musica Antiqua Koln led by Reinhard Goebel, with soprano Celine Scheen and choir Ex Tempore directed by Florian Heyerick also featuring on some tracks. I haven't seen the movie but the stills from the booklet look interesting. It is based in the court of Louis XIV and his relationship with court master musician Lully and dramatist Moliere. Louis was often the featured lead dancer in the dramas that were put together for the court. As for the music on the disk, it revolves around the pageants that Lully put on for state occasions as well as the more intimate court entertainments. It is fine French baroque music expertly played by Musica Antiqua Koln and with a great feeling of space and presence in the production, it must sound excellent in a cinema surround sound. Lully was a fairly notorious character in the ruthless way he maintained his hold over music in the French court to the detriment of others like Rameau and Charpentier but he would not have got away with that without being an accomplished composer in his own right.