For this 2007 recording with Le Concert Spirituel which we now reissue with a new presentation, Hervé Niquet revived Sémélé by Marin Marais. Known above all for his compositions for the viola da gamba, Marais the composer was at the same time the author of a number of tragédies lyriques which he wrote for the Académie royale de Musique. Sémélé, first performed in 1709, is the final opera by one of the leading composers from the reign of Louis XIV...

Sémélé contains a sparkling prologue honouring Bacchus, a set of arias with a freshly-minted appeal, a marvellously inventive diabolical scene, divertissements rich in character; all this leading up to an earthquake scene memorably anticipating the later work of Rameau.

For all lovers of glorious Baroque music, here is now the opportunity to re-discover and enjoy a masterpiece which had lain in the shadows for three centuries.