Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre was a virtuoso harpsichordist, as well as the author of many pioneering works. She left an abundant output of cantatas, both secular and sacred. Here the soprano Maïlys de Villoutreys, Héloise Gaillard and her Ensemble Amarillis pay tribute to her with the cantatas Judith and Sémélé, inspired by two women, who embody virtue and courage on the one hand, temerity and pride on the other. Whether intimate or more operatic, both works highlight the composer’s innate sense of drama.

For this new recording, taking the form of an initiatory journey, Marianne Piketty and Le Concert Idéal explore the subject of night-time and the fascination it holds for composers. From the capricious and exuberant nights of Antonio Vivaldi to the melancholy of Lili Boulanger’s D’un soir triste and the greater optimism of its partner piece, D’un matin de printemps, via the poetic and sensuous dreams of Eugène Ysaÿe, the musicians of Le Concert Idéal travel to different places and different periods in time, looking at the night sky, and reaching the present day with the concerto Bajo la estrella, commissioned from the composer Alex Nante and recorded here for the first time.