The transverse flute was one of the most popular
instruments in France in the first half of the 18th century. Many composers
wrote music for it, mostly in ensemble with other instruments. As the
flute was also played by many amateurs it was quite profitable to produce
music for them to play in domestic surroundings. One of the most prolific
composers in this department was Michel de La Barre, himself a virtuosic
player of the flute. "Thus your enchanting flute, LA BARRE, inspires
Tenderness; all is inflamed by its Vanquishing Sounds" - so wrote Antoine
Houdar de la Motte, a contemporary poet and author of librettos.
Little is known about the early stages of La Barre's career. We don't
know exactly when he was born; it is assumed it was around 1675. We
don't know who his teacher was. In his liner-notes Jean-Christophe Pucek
suggests it could have been René Pignon Descoteaux, a flautist
at the court of Louis XIV. He lived in the same district of Paris where
La Barre was born. It was especially the gambist Marin Marais who was
an inspiration to La Barre. In 1702 he published the first collection
in France with solo pieces for flute. In his preface he states: "I have
endeavoured to include in these Pieces some of the beauties, and difficulties,
of which this instrument is capable, in order to encourage those who
wish to perform them to study sufficiently to be able to do so. And
in order to bring this Instrument as close as possible to perfection,
I felt that, for the glory of the Flute and my own, I should follow
the example of Monsieur Marais who has taken such trouble and care for
the perfection of the Viol, and has succeeded so well". From this one
may conclude that this collection wasn't just composed for entertainment,
but also had an educational purpose. This was an essental element of
the Enlightenment which emerged in the early 18th century and spawned
many treatises.
La Barre also made some forays into the world of the music theatre.
He composed two works for the stage, the ballet opera
Le triomphe
des arts and
La Vénitienne, a
comédie-ballet.
Both were to a libretto by the above-mentioned Houdar de la Motte. They
didn't enjoy a positive reception, and La Barre abandoned his efforts
in this department. Both compositions are represented here. We hear
two arias from
La Vénitienne and one from
Le triomphe
des arts. Pieces from the latter opera were published in instrumental
arrangements, from which we get to hear eight, in various scorings.
The largest part of La Barre's output for the flute comprises 19 duets
for two flutes. The fact that he wrote so many and that they were published
in a relatively short span of time bears witness to their popularity.
Some years ago John Solum and Richard Wyton recorded ten of these duets
(
review).
Apart from the fact that I wasn't that impressed by the performances
I also regretted the lack of variation. This disc is preferable in that
it presents a wider picture of La Barre's oeuvre. In addition to the
music from his operas we hear a suite for flute and bc which is taken
from the collection of 1702 mentioned above. It reflects the fashion
of the time in that it comprises mainly character pieces: seven of the
nine have titles, such as
La Richelieu,
La Suédoise
and
La Julie. The latter was inspired by one of his own songs,
C'est des beaux yeux de Julie, from a collection of
Airs Sérieux
et à Boire. The programme also includes an air on a text
by Houdar de la Motte,
Que ne suis-je la fleur nouvelle.
In 1694 La Barre published a collection with trio sonatas, which were
clearly inspired by Marais's trios of 1692. The
Trio in d minor
recorded here is from the revised edition of 1707. It is a sequence
of dances, and includes a
Plainte whose expressive character
is partly due to some remarkable harmonic progressions. The trio ends
with a passacaille.
The programme opens with a prelude by Louis-Antoine Dornel which is
a tribute to La Barre. His sarabande refers to Descoteaux, probably
the flute teacher of La Barre. Louise Moaty recites
La Flûte,
Ode à Monsieur de La Barre by Houdar de la Motte, from which
I quoted some lines in the first paragraph. It is a shame that the booklet
omits the lyrics of the complete poem. The reading is especially interesting
because Ms Moaty uses historical pronunciation, known as
français
restitué. This is also adopted in the airs, sensitively sung
by Camille Poul.
The playing of the ensemble and the individual artists is of the highest
order. Serge Saitta plays with great subtlety and adds a variety of
ornaments. In the suite from
Le Triomphe des Arts and the trio
sonata the instruments are used in various combinations which makes
much sense. The ensemble is impeccable.
There are not that many recordings of La Barre's music. Despite my reservations
in regard to the disc by Solum and Wyton it is an important recording
and can be considered an interesting addition to the present disc which
excludes any duets. Also recommendable is a disc on the Astrée
label with two suites from the second edition of the 1702 collection,
with Stephen Preston, Jordi Savall, Hopkinson Smith and Blandine Verlet.
It was originally released in 1978 and reissued in 1991, but may still
be available somewhere. The present disc by Le Mercure Galant proves
that La Barre's music is of excellent quality and deserves to be more
frequently performed and recorded.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
