Au salon de Joséphine

CDs
Pierre-Jean Garat, Hortense de Beauharnais, Daniel Steibelt, Jean-Paul Égide Martini, Giovanni Paisiello, Ignaz Josef Pleyel, Étienne-Nicolas Méhul, Charles-Henri Plantade, Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz, Gaspare Spontini, Hortense de Beauharnais, Louis-Emmanuel Jadin, François-Joseph Naderman, Girolamo Crescentini, André-Ernest-Modest Grétry
Coline Dutilleul mezzosoprano
Aline Zylberajch piano
Pernelle Marzorati harp
Ramée
in collaboration with the
Palazzetto Bru Zane
07/11/2025
1 CD - booklet in English, French and German

The musical culture that Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), Empress of the French and Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife, developed with her family and at court kept pace with fashion and even shaped the French musical taste of the period.

Joséphine organised weekly concerts at the Château de Malmaison, her preferred residence, that featured many of the most famous musicians in Paris and Europe. Informal musical soirées were also held on an almost daily basis. This recording presents excerpts from operas of the period transcribed for chamber performance, in which the most passionate emotions are expressed alongside nostalgic romances and alternate with instrumental works to recreate the spontaneity of a musical evening in Joséphine’s salon.

This original project offers music lovers an immersion in a musical universe that is largely unknown to audiences today.

Recorded 1-4 December 2024 at the Studio Stephen Paulello, Villethierry, France

Tracklist

PIERRE-JEAN GARAT (1762–1823)
1 Il était là !

HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS (1783–1837)
2 L’Hirondelle

DANIEL STEIBELT (1765–1823)
3 Andante (from Sonate pour Forte Piano op. 37 no. 1)

JEAN-PAUL-ÉGIDE MARTINI (1741–1816)
4 Plaisir d’amour

GIOVANNI PAISIELLO (1740–1816)
5 Chi vuol la zingarella (from I zingari in fiera)

IGNAZ JOSEF PLEYEL (1757–1831)
6 Allegretto (from Duo pour Harpe ou Forte Piano)
Anonymous 19th(?) century transcription of the Trio pour pianoforte ou clavecin accompagné d’une flûte ou d’un violon et d’un violoncelle, Benton 433

ÉTIENNE-NICOLAS MÉHUL (1763–1817)
7 J’ai de la raison, j’aime la sagesse (from L’Irato, ou l’Emporté)

CHARLES-HENRI PLANTADE (1764–1839)
8 Romance de Zoé

JEAN-BAPTISTE KRUMPHOLZ (1742–1790)
9 Allegretto (from Sonate pour la harpe op. 13 no. 1)
10 Romance (from Sonate pour la harpe op. 13 no. 1)

GASPARE SPONTINI (1774–1851)
11 O nume tutelar (from La Vestale)

HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS
12 Complainte d’Héloïse au Paraclet

ÉTIENNE-NICOLAS MÉHUL
13 Allegro (from Sonate pour le Piano Forte op. 1 no. 2)

LOUIS-EMMANUEL JADIN (1768–1853)
14 La Mort de Werther

HORTENSE DE BEAUHARNAIS
15 L’Orage

FRANÇOIS-JOSEPH NADERMAN (1781–1835)
Sonatina pour la harpe op. 92 no. 2
16 Prélude Allegro
17 Allegro Maestoso
18 Romance

GIROLAMO CRESCENTINI (1762–1846)
19 Che chiedi, che brami

ANDRÉ-ERNEST-MODESTE GRÉTRY (1741–1813)
20 Monologue de Mademoiselle de Saint-Yves (from Le Huron)

Bru Zane Mediabase
Digital resources for French Romantic music