One of the most remarkable developments in the music scene of the last
fifteen years or so is the strong interest in the music written and/or
performed in France in the second half of the 18th century and the first
decades of the 19th.
The Belgian conductor Guy Van Waas has played a key role in this
development; the recordings with his orchestra Les Agrémens brought together
in the present set bears witness to that. In the track-list you will see the
names of various composers who have hardly any profile. That goes, for
instance, for Dieudonné-Pascal Pieltain, Antoine-Frédérick Gresnick and
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Composers such as Grétry and Gossec are certainly not
unknown quantities, but until recently their music was hardly ever played,
let alone recorded. Alexandre Dratwicki, in his liner-notes to the recording
which is included here as CD 7, opens his essay with the sentence:
"There is no French music between Rameau and Berlioz", to sum up
the general view about this period. These recordings - and others, for
instance by conductors like Christophe Rousset and Hervé Niquet - attest to
the opposite.
Until the beginning of the 18th century Italian music was not appreciated
in France, and music from Germany was barely known. This was going to change
during the 18th century. In public concerts such as the
Concert
Spirituel founded in 1725 Italian compositions, including those by
Vivaldi, were regularly performed, and French composers presented their own
works which were strongly influenced by the Italian style. A notable example
was the violinist Jean-Marie Leclair. In the second half of the century
there was a growing openness towards influences from elsewhere. Various
German keyboard players settled in Paris, for instance Johann Gottfried
Eckard, Johann Schobert and Nicolas-Joseph Hüllmandel. In the realm of
orchestral music the name of Haydn has to be mentioned. He was one of the
most popular composers in Paris: his name appeared on the programmes of the
Concert Spirituel more than one hundred times between April 1773 and May
1790 when the organization was disbanded. In 1784 his
Symphony No.
45, known - in English - as 'Farewell', was performed.
His popularity resulted in Joseph Boulogne, also known as Chevalier de
Saint-George, commissioning him in 1785 to compose six symphonies for the
Concerts de la Loge Olympique whose musical director he was. The liner-notes
in this set make no mention of any performances of a symphony by Joseph
Martin Kraus but it is quite possible that the
Symphony in D was
performed as it was published in Paris under Haydn's name.
Haydn's Paris symphonies belong among his most frequently performed
orchestral works and even Kraus' symphonies have been recorded
complete (Concerto Köln; Capriccio, 1991 and 1992 respectively). Far lesser
known are the symphonies by François-Joseph Gossec, one of various musicians
and composers from Wallonia - the French-speaking part of what is now known
as Belgium - who settled in Paris. He was educated as a violinist and bass
player in the orchestra of Le Riche de La Pouplinière, who for many years
was the patron of Rameau. This had a lasting influence on his development as
a composer as he came into contact with other composers and other styles. It
was especially the performances of Johann Stamitz, one of the main
representatives of the 'Mannheim school' which inspired him to
compose symphonies. CDs 3 and 4 include his three symphonies op. 8 and three
symphonies from his op. 12. In 1769 he founded the concert society
Concert des Amateurs whose orchestra was quite large in comparison
to what was common at the time. In 1773 he took over the direction of the
Concert Spirituel.
That same year he performed his first work for the stage:
Sabinus; a ballet suite from this work is included on CD 2. When
Gluck (represented here on CD 7) made his appearance in Paris and his
Iphigénie en Aulide was performed in 1774 it caused a verbal war
between supporters of his style and the defenders of traditional French
opera. Gossec was on Gluck's side and the latter's style
influenced his composition of
Thésée (recorded complete by Guy Van
Waas; RIC 337) which was part of attempts to revive the
tragédie
lyriques of Lully and Quinault in a modernized form. Fom 1780 onwards
Gossec became involved in the activities of the Opéra.
Another important composer of music for the stage was André-Modeste
Grétry, born in Liège. He was educated as a violinist. Having studied in
Italy he met Voltaire in Geneva who told him: "Go to Paris, for there
you will obtain immortality". Grétry arrived in 1767 and developed into
one of the most successful composers of music for the stage, especially
opéras comiques. These works were considered alternatives to the
serious
tragédies lyriques. The subjects were taken from everyday
life, they included spoken dialogues instead of recitatives and simpler and
lighter ariettas. The first disc of this set offers extracts from several of
Grétry's comedies and ballets.
Céphale et Procris dates from
1773 and has been recorded complete by Guy Van Waas (RIC 302). The same goes
for
La Caravane du Caire (RIC 345). The French Revolution had major
effects on music life: in 1793 the Convention Nationale decided that
compositions should "suitably depict the principles of equality and
freedom" and the authors of works which "might corrupt the public
taste and awaken shameful Royalist superstition" were to be punished.
From this time dates
Anacréon chez Polycrate (1797).
Grétry's music was almost exclusively composed for the stage. The
first disc includes his only solo concerto, the
Concerto in C for
transverse flute and orchestra. Although solo concertos had been written
previously by French composers - for instance Leclair, who wrote twelve
violin concertos - it was a relatively new form of orchestral music. Johann
Stamitz was one of the promotors of the relatively new clarinet; his
best-known
Concerto in B flat is included on CD 3. Other solo
concertos which can be heard here are the
Concerto in C by Ludwig
August Lebrun - one of the most famous oboists of his time, who performed
across Europe - and the
Concerto in B flat for violin by
Dieudonné-Pascal Pieltain, a professional violinist who, like Grétry, was
from Liège. He was a frequent soloist at the Concert Spirituel. In 1782 he
went to London where he participated in concerts organized by Lord
Abingdon.
The form of the
sinfonia concertante was particularly popular.
When Mozart visited Paris in 1778 he planned to compose a sinfonia
concertante for the wind players from Mannheim who were to perform in the
Concert Spirituel; however, it did not materialize. This set includes
several specimens of composition in this genre which were usually in two
movements. Gossec composed a small number of such pieces; one of them is the
Symphonie concertante in D for violin and cello (CD 2). A further
specimen is the
Symphonie concertante in B flat for clarinet and
bassoon by Antoine-Frédéric Gresnick, another Liègois. He was educated as a
cellist and was mainly active as a composer of music for the stage. For a
number of years he lived in Lyon. The sinfonia concertante is his only
contribution to the genre; it bears witness to the growing popularity of the
clarinet in France.
The first five discs of this set are a compilation of six recordings
previously released by Ricercar. Fortunately they are included here
complete,
only divided differently over these five discs. It is a shame that the
booklet
omits references to the original discs; I have included them here.
Two discs remain. The sixth includes new recordings which seem not to be
available separately. That is regrettable as a number of music-lovers may
already have the discs discussed so far. On the other hand: how many are
really waiting for another recording of Beethoven's
Symphony No.
2? Haydn's
Concerto in E flat for trumpet is very well
known and widely available, also on period instruments. Haydn's
cantata
Miseri noi, misera patria is probably not that well-known
but it takes less than 10 minutes and that seems hardly decisive in favour
of this set for those who already have the rest. It is also a bit of a
mystery why this disc has been included as its connection to French music
life is on the speculative side. The liner-notes say that Haydn's
cantata may have been performed alongside his symphonies and his
Stabat
mater, but there seems to be no evidence of that whatsoever. The
trumpet concerto is not even mentioned; Jérôme Lejeune only refers to the
technical development of the instrument around 1800. Beethoven's
symphonies were greatly admired by Berlioz and the liner-notes end with his
comments on the second. However, there is no mention of any performance of
this work in Paris.
The seventh disc has been released separately, but - according to Presto
Classical - a couple of months after this compilation. That is rather odd.
It means that those who have purchased this set because of that new
recording have to do without the liner-notes by Alexandre Dratwicki which
are included in the separate release. The booklet of this set only mentions
the
Symphony No. 2 in D by Hérold. Even worse, purchasers have to
do without the lyrics. This disc sheds light on the development of opera in
Paris from Gluck and Johann Christian Bach to Spontini and Hérold. The
stylistic developments come clearly to the fore here, not only in the vocal
part but also - maybe even more pronounced - in the orchestral aspect. The
names attest to the international character of music life in the French
capital. Dratwicki mentions several composers who attempted to contribute to
the revival of the
tragédie lyrique: Lemoyne from France, Grétry
and Gossec from Wallonia, Johann Christoph Vogel from Germany and Italians
such as Piccinni, Sacchini and Salieri. Some of these attempts failed,
mostly because of a weak libretto or a mediocre performance. The form of the
arias strongly differs; Lemoyne's aria from
Phèdre is a
mixture of elements from the spoken theatre and opera. The orchestral
scoring of that aria is also rather uncommon: two bassoons, three trombones
and strings. Some composers took themes and plots from classical French
authors, such as Voltaire, Racine and Corneille. One example is
Spontini's
Olympie. 'O déplorable mère' is a
monologue in which the orchestra plays a substantial part. Dratwicki
mentions that Berlioz considered Spontini his forerunner.
Those who have a special interest in opera are well advised to purchase
the original discs with vocal items, especially because of the presence of
the lyrics. That not only goes for the last disc of this set, but also for
the first, with extracts from stage works by Grétry. The latter are nicely
sung by Sophie Karthäuser who has a good feeling for music theatre and is
also stylistically mostly convincing. Only in 'Fra l'orror
della tempesta' from Grétry's
La Caravane du Caire
she uses too much vibrato and the cadenza seems too long. The isolation of
single arias is not ideal; that is particularly the case with the very
dramatic pieces which are included on CD 7. Jennifer Borghi regularly
participates in recordings of French operas; from a dramatic point of view
her performances are outstanding, but stylistically her incessant vibrato is
hard to swallow.
The inclusion of symphonies by Haydn is obvious, but is not that
interesting from an angle of repertoire. The Paris symphonies rank among
Haydn's most frequently recorded works and Guy Van Waas delivers good
performances but probably not really up to the competition. That is partly
due to the recording: some symphonies suffer from too much reverberation.
The orchestral pieces by Gossec and the concertante works by composers from
Liège are the most interesting part of this set. These are well played, and
the soloists give outstanding accounts of their parts. Jean-François Madeuf
plays a keyed trumpet in Haydn's trumpet concerto; I especially like
the swift tempo of the andante which is faster than I have heard before.
All things said and done, the importance of exploring this repertoire can
hardly be overestimated. These recordings fill major gaps in the discography
and are well worth investigating. However, if you have a more than average
interest in this repertoire you should consider looking out for the original
releases which are still available.
Johan van Veen
www.musica-dei-donum.org
twitter.com/johanvanveen
Track-list
N.B. The numbers of the original recordings are show with their RIC
prefixes.
CD 1 [77:24]
RIC 234
André-Modeste GRÉTRY (1741-1813)
Céphale et Procris [35:25]
Les Deux Avares [11:13]
Anacréon chez Polycrate [6:56]
La Caravane du Caire [10:51]
RIC 242
Concerto for transverse flute and orchestra in C [12:54]
Sophie Karthäuser (soprano), Jan De Winne (transverse flute)
CD 2 [79:31]
RIC 263
François-Joseph GOSSEC (1734-1829)
Symphonie in E flat, op. 8,1 [14:41]
Symphony in F, op. 8,2 [14:21]
Symphony in E flat, op. 8,3 [18:09]
Sabinus (suite de ballets) [20:48]
RIC 242
Symphonie concertante for violin, cello and orchestra in D
[11:29]
Patrick Cohën-Akenine (violin), François Poly (cello)
CD 3 [77:45]
RIC 218
François-Joseph GOSSEC
Symphony in E flat, op. 12,5 [13:25]
Symphony in D, op. 12,1 [14:20]
Johann STAMITZ (1717-1757)
Concerto for clarinet and orchestra in B flat [14:58]
François-Joseph GOSSEC
Symphony in C, op. 12,3 [16:23]
[RIC 277]
Joseph Martin KRAUS (1756-1792)
Symphony in D (VB 143) [18:45]
Guy Van Waas (clarinet)
CD 4 [71:20]
RIC 242
Dieudonné-Pascal PIELTAIN (1754-1833)
Concerto for violin and orchestra No. 3 in B flat [20:13]
Antoine-Frédéric GRESNICK (1755-1799)
Symphonie concertante for clarinet, bassoon and orchestra in B
flat [14:06]
RIC 309
Ludwig Auguste LEBRUN (1752-1790)
Concerto for oboe and orchestra in C [14:25]
RIC 277
Franz Joseph HAYDN (1732-1809)
Symphony in B flat 'La Reine' (H I,85) [22:33]
Benoît Laurent (oboe), Eric Hoeprich (clarinet), Jane Gower (bassoon),
Patrick Cohën-Akenine (violin)
CD 5 [78:05]
RIC 309
Franz Joseph HAYDN
Symphony No. 82 in C
'L'Ours' (H I,82) [25:32]
Symphony No. 86 in D (H I,86) [25:56]
RIC 277
Symphony in f sharp minor 'Abschied' (H I,45)
[26:34]
CD 6 [56:52]
Franz Joseph HAYDN
Miseri noi, misera patria, cantata (H XXIVa,7) [9:51]
Concerto for trumpet and orchestra in E flat (H VIIe,1)
[13:43]
Ludwig VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Symphony No. 2 in
D, op. 36 [33:16]
Jodie Devos (soprano), Jean-Paul Madeuf (keyed trumpet)
CD 7 [69:15]
RIC 150
Antonio SALIERI (1750-1825)
Overture Les Danaïdes [6:15]
Rodolphe KREUTZER (1766-1831)
Ipsiboé, opera in 4 acts (1824): Anciens maîtres de la Provence
[6:06]
Christoph Willibald VON GLUCK (1714-1787)
Alceste, tragédie opéra in 3 acts (1776): Divinités du Styx
[3:56]
Jean-Baptiste LEMOYNE (1751-1796)
Phèdre, tragédie lyrique in 3 acts (1786): Hippolyte succombe
[4:58]
Johann Christian BACH (1735-1782)
Amadis de Gaule, tragédie lyrique in 3 acts (Warb G 39) (1779):
Bientôt l'ennemi qui m'outrage [2:09]
Christoph Willibald VON GLUCK
Iphigénie en Tauride, tragédie in 4 acts (1779): Non, cet affreux
devoir [3:38]
Orphée et Euridice, tragédie opéra in 3 acts (1774): Ballet des
Ombres heureuses [5:12]; Air de Furie [4:04]
Étienne-Nicolas MÉHUL (1763-1817)
Valentine de Milan, drame lyrique in 3 acts (1808): Vaillant
guerrier [3:40]
Louis-Ferdinand HÉROLD (1791-1833)
Lasthénie, opera in 1 act (1823): Songez que dans le mariage
[3:58]
Gaspare SPONTINI (1774-1851)
Olympie, tragédie lyrique in 3 acts (1819): Ô déplorable mère
[9:35]
Louis-Ferdinand HÉROLD
Symphony No. 2 in D [15:43]
Jennifer Borghi (mezzo)
