I picked up Niquet's performance of Rameau's Grands Motets, as Gens and
Desrochers are covering the soprano parts and I have fallen in love with
their voices.  I enjoy the music very much.  Carmelized Bach.

I noticed that the Christie performance of the same music won a Gramophone
award @'75, so I picked that up as well.  I like the Gens/Desrochers with
Niquet conducting much better.  The voices are lighter, and I don't hear
any 'scrappy moments of orchestral playing,' as Gram reports.  Christie's
voices lean toward an 'operatic' sound that doesn't sit as well w/ me.
Not that Christie isn't elegant.

Thanks to Bill Hong, I took the time to go through the Lully section and
picked up his Petits Motets--very nice, and the Salve Regina for 3 sopranos
is wonderful, and the sopranos are light-voiced.  Niquet's recordings *are*
available on Naxos here in California at least.  I would snap them up.

Speaking of what was available used, I FINALLY found Biber's Mystery
Sonatas w/Holloway!  Been looking for that one for a year.  I don't hear
the man vs.  instrument antagonism I hear in his performance of the Bach
Violin Sonatas; his musicianship really comes through in the Biber.  And
the notes on Biber's alternative string tunings are fascinating.  Look
for this one--very imaginative, picturesque, touching and quirky.

Podger's new recording of the Violin Sonatas is a joy as well.  Channel is
very generous to offer these two CD's for the price of one.  Though I'm not
a Bach specialist, I can report that the other two instruments of these
'trio sonatas'--the right and left hand of the keyboard player, so to
speak--come across as clearly and warmly as I've heard.  Some great
harmonies in there.  So much great stuff.

John Smyth
http://facelink.com/j66560