France
CD: The dø - Both Ways Open JawsSunday, 13 November 2011
It’s pronounced doh, like Homer Simpson’s favourite exclamation. Although The dø aren’t yellow cartoon characters, they edge towards the caricature with songs like “Gonna be Sick!” and “Smash Them All (Night Visitors)”. Their art pop has a slight... Read more... |
Classical CDs Weekly: Berlioz, Daugherty, PurcellSaturday, 12 November 2011
Berlioz: Grande Messe des Morts Paul McCreesh/Ensemble Wrocław (Signum)After last week’s Mahler 8, another gargantuan choral work makes a welcome appearance on disc. Berlioz’s Grande messe des morts was first performed in the church of Les... Read more... |
Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher, London Symphony Orchestra, Alsop, Barbican HallSaturday, 05 November 2011
Honegger's gaudy 1935 meditation on the life of Joan of Arc - which we witnessed in concert last night at the Barbican - is an untidy flea market of meretricious musical ideas. The work's only value lies in it being able to make one understand why... Read more... |
Camille, Hackney EmpireFriday, 04 November 2011
It’s a rare but delightful thing when a venue and an artist prove perfect partners for each other, as was the case last night with young French singer Camille and old English music-hall theatre the Hackney Empire. From up in the cosy darkness of the... Read more... |
Castor and Pollux, English National OperaTuesday, 25 October 2011
The English National Opera were taking quite a gamble with last night's Rameau premiere. The daunting basics? A 250-year-old French opera that hasn't yet been properly adopted by its homeland, let alone by Britain; a mildly autistic mythological... Read more... |
Camille speaks of Ilo Veyou, water, peace and intimacyThursday, 20 October 2011
“I am a lady of the sea, I’m a lady of the water,” declares French sonic auteur Camille. “Water is life and we forget too much about this.” Her new album, Ilo Veyou, is filled with water. There’s the “Bubble Lady”, the “Wet Boy” and the “Shower”... Read more... |
CD: Mondkopf - Rising DoomMonday, 17 October 2011
The title Rising Doom hints that the second album from 24-year-old Paris-based Paul Régimbeau may not have much in common with the output of his fellow countryman and electronic dance music producer David Guetta. “Where Them Girls At?” this is not.... Read more... |
DVD: Cave of Forgotten DreamsTuesday, 11 October 2011
Good cinema can show us the unimaginable, the unknowable. As does Werner Herzog’s documentary, taking us deep into the Chauvet Caves in the Ardèche in southern France. Discovered in 1994, they contain the oldest known cave paintings. Created 32,000... Read more... |
CD: M83 - Hurry Up, We're DreamingSunday, 09 October 2011
Remember the big music? Eighties big. Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” big. Simple Minds’ “Waterfront” big. Anthony Gonzalez does. He might say his fifth album as M83 is inspired by The Smashing Pumpkins’ 1995 double set Melon... Read more... |
theartsdesk Q&A: Conductor Stéphane DenèveThursday, 06 October 2011
He's just launched the last of seven phenomenally successful seasons as music director of a transfigured Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Subscriptions for the Edinburgh and Glasgow concerts have doubled, attendances soared, and Stéphane Denève is... Read more... |
Midnight in ParisWednesday, 05 October 2011
Waiting for Woody Allen to turn in a half-decent movie is bit like inching through a recession. The green shoots of recovery are constantly hoped for, but slow to show. Now and then the new one will come along and seem marginally less dire, but... Read more... |
DVD: Le Bonheur, L'Une Chante L’Autre Pas, La Pointe Courte, VagabondFriday, 30 September 2011
It can’t be a coincidence that the simultaneous release of four Agnès Varda DVDs draws a film each from the Fifties, Sixties, Seventies and Eighties, bringing the opportunity for a broad-sweep appraisal. It’s equally unsurprising that the films... Read more... |
