The Symphony He Didn't Write

An interesting concept on this disk from Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre titled Une Symphonie Imaginaire by Rameau. Of course Rameau didn't write a symphony, the idea is that Minkowski has selected material from among the orchestral and ballet music to create an imagined symphony full of irresistible dance rhythms, ingeneous harmonies and innovative orchestrations. Whether this holds together fully as a concept doesn't really matter, there is little attempt to rewrite any material or to cobble together false segues and the disk can simply be listened to as a selection of beautifully played instrumental muisc from the French baroque era. John Eliot Garnder did similar with his BBC Prom concert last year featuring dance performance by French and African troupes and it is an excellent way to bring Rameau's instrumental writing to the fore when full scale performances of the ballets and operas might be prohibitive. On a couple of occasions, Minkowski has usurped the composer by removing vocal lines and by orchestrating the famous solo harpsichord piece the Hen, but there are historical precedents for these actions. The disk is recorded in fine SACD sound that also enhances reproduction on a standard cd player.