Bach Arias Ophelie Gaillard

• Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750):
• 1 Mein gläubiges Herze, BWV 68 03:49
• 2 Choral Schübler, BWV 645 No. 1 03:46
• 3 Woferne du den edlen Frieden, BWV 41 08:44
• 4 Ich, dein betrübtes Kind, BWV 199 02:07
• 5 Jesus ist ein guter Hirt, BWV 85 03:15
• 6 Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649 04:19
• 7 Ich bin herrlich, ich bin schon, BWV 49 04:45
• 8 Es dunket mich, ich seh dich kommen, BWV 175 03:21
• 9 Choral Schübler, BWV 650 No. 6 03:58
• 10 Bete aber auch dabei, BWV 115 07:22
• 11 Ich fürchte nicht des Todes Schrecken, BWV 183 07:53
• 12 Es ist vollbracht, BWV 159 04:51
• 13 Ich ruf' zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 02:32
• Georg Melchior Hoffman (1679-1715):
• 14 Schalge doch, gewunschte Stunde, BWV 53 06:42
• Total Runtime 01:07:24

Info for Bach Arias

Ophelie Gaillard has made recently a deep impression with the Suites for cello solo by Jean-Sebastian Bach. On this new recording, dedicated to the Cantor of Leipzig, she gathered her close team from the Pulcinella Ensemble and invited some of the most talented soloists: Sandrine Piau, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, Christophe Dumaux.

This programme gives a vision of the most beautiful cantatas written by Jean-Sebastian Bach in Leipzig from 1723 to 1750, interspersed with some of the masterpieces from the 'Schübler' Chorales and Orgelbüchlein.

With a passion for Baroque music played on period instruments, Pulcinella is a group of virtuoso soloists, gathered in a chamber spirit around cellist Ophélie Gaillard. Highly experienced musicians, who attach great importance to sound and articulation, they explore some of the major works of the repertoire, while aiming to present little known or unknown pieces as well.

Part of Pulcinella’s repertoire is devoted to important 17th- and 18th-century works for concerted cello, of which it is one of the foremost ambassadors. The ensemble’s first recording, devoted to Vivaldi’s complete Cello Sonatas (on Ambroisie) was highly acclaimed by the international press in 2006. The following year its tribute (with Sandrine Piau and Rolf Lislevand) to the cellist and composer Luigi Boccherini also received excellent reviews, including praise from The Times.

Pulcinella works with singers including Nuria Rial, Salomé Haller, Sandrine Piau, Max Emmanuel Cencic, Xavier Sabata, Christophe Dumaux, Carlos Mena, Dietr ich Henschel, Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, who are among its guests at major festivals, such as those of Saint-Denis, Beaune, and Santiago de Compostela, and at venues such as the Cité de la Musique and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

„Ophelie Galliard plays admirably: springy in fast passages...and soulful elsewhere...Good support and lovely obbligatos from Pulcinella.“ (Gramophone Magazine)

Sandrine Piau, soprano
Christophe Dumaux, alto
Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, tenor
Ensemble Pulcinella
Ophélie Gaillard, cello, direction

Ophélie Gaillard
Her “technical fluency is unimpeachable. Her intonation … is impeccable. She plays with a ripe, absolutely luscious tone. Her use of vibrato is circumspect and period- appropriate. She is scrupulous about observing repeats and her use of ornamentation is elegant and understated. The fluidity and unself-conscious physicality of Gaillard's playing keeps the listener aware that, except for the preludes, this is sunny, dance-based music.” So wrote the critic Stephen Eddins (Allmusic) of her recent Bach recording (2011), while back in 2007 The Times hailed her “wizard fingering, big lyrical heart and kaleidoscope of colours”.

An insatiable curiosity, a taste for risk, an immoderate appetite for the whole of the concertante cello repertoire, complete disregard of limits and petty quarrels: these are no doubt the features that have always set this brilliant Franco-Swiss musician apart.

Voted ‘Revelation: Solo Instrumentalist of the Year’ at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2003, she has since appeared in recital at many prestigious venues.

Ophélie Gaillard is a child of Baroque. In her studies she specialised from a very early age in the early and classical cellos and was soon sharing the stage with Christophe Rousset, Emmanuelle Haïm and Amaryllis, before founding in 2005 Pulcinella, a ‘collective’ of virtuoso soloists with a passion for performance on period instruments. The recordings devoted to Vivaldi (Cello Sonatas and Concertos), Boccherini (Cello Concertos) and Bach (Arias and Cantatas with violoncello piccolo) reaped excellent ratings and several awards.

In 1998 she was the winner of the Leipzig Bach Competition, then in 2000 she recorded Bach’s complete Cello Suites for the Ambroisie label to great critical acclaim. She renewed that exploit in 2011, this time for the Aparté label, and received maximum ratings from Diapason, Strad Magazine, etc.

Ophélie Gaillard also performs modern and contemporary works. She has made successful recordings of Britten’s complete Cello Suites and Piano Sonatas with Vanessa Wagner and of Pierre Bartholomée’s Oraison for solo cello.

The Romantic repertoire is not neglected: she has successfully recorded the complete cello works of Schumann, Fauré, Chopin and Brahms.

She appears as a soloist with the Orchestre de Cannes-Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur, the Polish Radio Orchestra (under Gabriel Chmura), the Orchestre de Picardie (Edmon Colomer), the European Camerata, the Franz Liszt Orchestra of Budapest, the New Japan Philarmonic under the baton of Werner Andreas Alpert, the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de Chambre de Toulouse, the Romanian Radio Orchestra.

Greatly in demand as a teacher, she gives master-classes in Asia and in Latin and Central America. In 2010 she was a member of the jury for the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

Her solo album Dreams, made with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London, proved to be a great public success.

She is heard regularly on radio (France Musique, France Culture, France Inter, Radio Classique, Espace 2, BBC Radio 3) and often appears on television (France 2, Mezzo, Arte).

Ophélie Gaillard plays a cello by Francesco Goffriller (1737), generously loaned to her by CIC, and also a Flemish violoncello piccolo (anonymous).

She has just been appointed Professor at the Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva.

This album contains no booklet.