William Christie, the Sun King of Baroque Opera

Quite a daring choice for a young American musician in the 1970s to consider a career as a harpsichordist! Nevertheless, this was indeed the choice of William Christie, notably taught by Ralf Kirkpatrick and Kenneth Gilbert; but his true path lay elsewhere: the few recordings show a soloist who was much less talented than his compatriot Scott Ross or his protégé Christophe Rousset. The small ensemble that he created in 1979, Les Arts Florissants, was originally a profoundly...