Versailles Westminster

France and England had strong musical links during the reign of Louis XIV, with two English sovereigns exiled to France, Francophiles and Francophones, Catholics and allies, linked by blood to their cousin, the Greatest King in the World. After the beheading of his father in 1649, Charles II sought refuge in France before regaining his throne in 1660 and imposing a musical style marked by the French example, in particular with the creation of the 24 King's Violins, and the Royal Academy of Music directed by the Frenchman Cambert! Then from 1689 to 1701, it was James II who lived in exile in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. English composers, pushed to the breadline by the Puritans, were given a new lease of life by the compositions of Lully and the French keyboard masters: during these decades, Blow and Purcell succeeded each other as organists of Westminster, while Nivers and Lebegue held the organ of the Royal Chapel of Versailles. All of these Royals find themselves at the harpsichord and the organ in Constance Taillard's witty settings, as she plays the historic instruments of the Palace of Versailles with an oh-so British and Si Français style.

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