The Complete Erato Recordings

"My love for baroque music has never been exclusive. Of course I am attracted by period instruments, but that has never been an end in itself. For me, it is simply a matter of always moving further towards the truth, towards a fresh interpretation." As idiomatic and revelatory in Bach, Handel, Purcell, Rameau and Campra as in Gluck, Berlioz, Offenbach, Chabrier and Massenet, Sir John Eliot Gardiner is a conductor whose passion and curiosity for music seem as inexhaustible as his enterprising spirit. This 64CD set unites his entire discography for Erato, EMI and Virgin, produced over a period of nearly 20 years. Many of the recordings cast new light on the repertoire, expanding Gardiner's influence and enhancing his reputation as the guiding force of the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, English Baroque Soloists, and Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon. As the Financial Times has written : "What Gardiner demonstrated ... is that stylistic fidelity is a movable feast, and he has not lost his hunger for it." Track Listing: Among the Composers represented: Bach, Berlioz, Bizet, Carissimi, Couperin, Gluck, Handel, Leclair, Massenet, Messager, Monteverdi, Offenbach, Purcell, Rameau, Ravel, Scarlatti, Tchaikovsky. Among the Major Works represented: Bach: Motets, Cantatas, Orchestral suites Berlioz: Nuits d'été; Mélodies Couperin: Le Parnasse ou L'Apothéose de Corelli Handel : Dixit Dominus; The ways of Zion do mourn; Water Music; Israel in Egypt; L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato; Concerti Gorssi Op. 3; Semele; Ballet Music; Monteverdi : Madrigals; L'Orfeo (excerpts) Purcell : Music for the Queen Mary; Music for the Chapels Royal; The Tempest; The Indian Queen; Hail! Bright Cecilia; King Arthur; Timon of Athens; Dioclesian Rameau : Dardanus, Les Boréades