Album: Berlioz, Harold en Italie etc – Von Otter / Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble (Naive)

Though the sound of Les Musiciens in full flight is a blast, the most seductive moments in Marc Minkowski's X-rated Berlioz are found in the catch of a breath or the faint purr of a pianissimo double-bass.

Violist Antoine Tamestit finds an unearthly timbre for "Harold en Italie", while Anne Sofie von Otter adds a little sob and shiver to each plosive consonant in "Les Nuits d'été". The two soloists duet in Marguerite's aria from The Damnation of Faust, heavy with nostalgia.