Michel de LA BARRE (c.1675 -1745)
La Julie
Louis-Antoine DORNEL (1685-1765)
Prélude L'Aimè de Monsieur de La Barre [2:34]
Michel de LA BARRE
Le Triomphe des Arts:
Qu'un coeur est prévenu (Air de Campaste) [1:44]
Recueil des plus belles symphonies du Tromphe des Arts [14:28]
C'est des beaux yeux de Julie (Parodie sur La Julie) [1:22]
3e Suite for flute and bc in e minor (1702) [14:03]
La Vénitienne:
Quand je revois l'Objet de mes amours (Air de Léonore) [2:36]
[Antoine Houdar de La Motte]
La Flûte, Ode à Monsieur de La Barrem (Odes Pindariques de Monsieur
de La Motte) (text)* [4:56]
Michel de LA BARRE
Que ne suis-je la fleur nouvelle [2:18]
Trio in d minor (1707) [17:40]
La Vénitienne:
Tendres plaisirs, charmants amours (Air tendre de Léonore) [1:39]
Louis-Antoine DORNEL
Sarabande La Descosteaux [2:20]
[Jean de La Bruyère]
La Fleuriste (text)* [2:37]
Camille Poul (soprano), Louise Moaty (reciter)*
Le Mercure Galant (Serge Saitta, Jean Brégnac (transverse flute), Sophie
Gent, Marie Rouquié (violin), Emmanuelle Guigues (viola da gamba),
Rémi Cassaigne (theorbo, guitar), Olivier Fortin (harpsichord))/Serge
Saitta
rec. 18-21 September 2010, Notre-Dame de Bon Secours, Paris
AGOGIQUE AGO010 [68:19]
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
The playing of the ensemble and the individual artists is of the highest order.
Support
us financially by purchasing this disc from |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |