Jean-Baptiste Lully: Thematic Catalogue on Spotify

"Authority is what French music was all about, and Lully's operas above all. They were the courtiest court operas that ever were." - Richard Taruskin, Oxford History of Western Music

Jean-Baptiste de Lully (1632–1687) was an Italian-born French composer who spent most of his life working in the court of the Sun King. He was the principal architect of what became known as the French Baroque style. His music is known for its power, liveliness in its fast movements and its deep emotional character in its sad movements. Lully might be one of the very few musicians that literally died from their craft: at 55 he accidentally stabbed his own foot with the long conducting stick he used to beat time and died from an infection.

Lully and the librettist Philippe Quinault

List of recordings in this playlist: Part 1, Introductions to Lully, orchestral suites, ballets and instrumental music (linked to reviews):

William Christie – Lully: Great Operatic Scenes
Chorégraphie: Music for Louis XIV's dancing masters
Les musiques de Louis XIV Vol.2: Du ballet à l'opéra
Mary Enid Haines – Lully: Ballet Music For The Sun King, booklet
Raymond Leppard & ECO– Lully: Pièces de symphonie
Jordi Savall – Lully: L'Orchestre Du Roi Soleil
Chicago Baroque Ensemble – The World Of Lully
Capriccio Stravagante – Lully: Divertissements
Fabio Bonizzoni – Lully: Ballets & Recits Italiens
The London Oboe Band – Ballet And Theater Music For Oboe Band
Others

Part 2, Opera/Stage Works

Le Bourgeois gentilhomme (1670); Les Fêtes De L'Amour Et De Bacchus (1672); Thésée (1675) reviews; Psyché (1678) reviews; Bellérophon (1679) reviews; Proserpine (1680) reviews 1, 2; Le triomphe de l'amour (1681); Phaëton (1683) review; Amadis (1684) review; Roland (1685) reviews 1, 2, 3; Armide (1686) reviews; Acis et Galatée (1686) reviews

Part 3, Sacred Music (linked to reviews)

Le Concert Spirituel – Lully: Grand Motets, Vol. 1,Vol. 2, Vol. 3
Jean-François Paillard– Lully : Te Deum & Dies Irae

Here's the Spotify playlist: Jean-Baptiste Lully: Thematic Catalogue (1027 tracks, total time: 1 day) Ctrl (CMD)+G to browse in album view. Two piano transcriptions from Leopold Godowsky bookends this playlist.