French Baroque Music
Ensemble
Instrumental Jean-Marie Leclair, Orchestre de Chambre Jean-Francois Paillard/Jean-Francois Paillard
rec. 1953-84; mono/stereo
Originally issued on Erato
WARNER CLASSICS 9029628784 [14 CDs: 848]
The raison d’être (to employ a singularly appropriate term) of this set was to collect the Erato label recordings made as the result of an enterprise launched seventy years ago when conductor Jean-François Paillard (1928-2013) established his Ensemble Instrumental “to revive by means of both its make-up and its repertoire the letter and spirit of the finest French instrumental works written between the reign of Henri IV and the Revolution – a wealth of music too little known today.” (Manifesto).
This was part of a European-wide movement whereby every country was rediscovering its baroque musical heritage. This 14 CD set provides just over fourteen hours of music from composers of the French Baroque era, the earliest being Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1643-1673) - much better known by his stage-name of Molière - in an air lasting 37 seconds, and Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704). The latest-lived were François-André Danican Philidor (1726-1795) – what a great name! – and Antoine Dauvergne (1713-1797), so the music centres around the first half of the 18C and the bulk of it comes from the pens of the four composers in the heading. The best-known names not to appear on the cover are Lully and Charpentier, but the former is amply represented by his suites, airs and marches on CDs 10 and 11, and the latter – known to the general listener almost uniquely by his Te Deum with its famous trumpet fanfare Prelude – is represented on CD 6 by a Sonata for 8 (instruments) and Nuit, an instrumental interlude from “In Navitatem Domini”, and more charming Christmas music on the last disc.
Lesser-known composers pop up over the wide span covered by these recordings in different recordings; for example, extracts from Michel-Richard de Lalande’s Simphonies pour les soupers di Roy were first recorded very early in Paillard’s project, in 1956, and the complete set – the only digital recording here - was made in 1984. Otherwise, most of these recordings were made in the 60s and 70s, apart from two mono recordings from the previous decade on the last two CDs. All have been remastered by the Art & Son Studio, Annecy, with the exceptions of CDs 11 and 12 and the sound throughout is excellent.
So much of the music here reflects the grace, elegance and reason of the period, but it must not be forgotten that as well as being concerned with intellect and refinement, it also reflected the power and prestige of the courts of Louis XIV and XV. Rather absurdly, the court also fostered an idealisation of the pastoral idyll which was in truth far removed from the actuality of country life; hence composers included instruments such as the musette (a small bagpipe), hurdy-gurdy and fifes, pipes or recorders. Such instruments do not feature here – only the much grander ensemble of hunting horns and trumpets as in CDs 8, 10 and 11 – but sometimes the conventional instruments are clearly aiming for the effects of the humbler ones and in general no more than around a dozen musicians are participating in the pieces here - and often considerably fewer.
The complete cycle of all twelve of Leclair’s concertos on the first two discs and first two tracks of CD 3 were recorded to mark Erato’s 25th anniversary in a world premiere recording. The eleven violin concertos are played with vivacity and virtuosity by Gérard Jarry, whereas Op. 7 No 3 is the only one not for violin and appears twice in this set, in both versions for flute and oboe, masterfully played respectively by the golden-toned, (pre-James Galway) doyen of flautists Jean-Pierre Rampal as part of the collection of four flute concertos on CD 3 and Pierre Pierlot on CD 13. There can be a certain sameness in the formula of two outer movements of constant, upbeat, moto perpetuo scramble sandwiching the soulful slow movement and listeners are advised not to try to digest these all at one setting, as Leclair does not quite possess Vivaldi’s or Handel’s powers of invention – but there is variety a-plenty and the music is often redolent of bird-song. The slow movements, such as the Largo of Op. 10 No. 5 or the Aria marked “Grazioso” of No. 6, are especially beguiling and there are surprises in store for non-specialist listeners (i.e. most of us) in the works by the three other composers on that flute concerto disc.
Couperin’s Les Nations, spreads across CD 4 and the beginning of CD 5, where we encounter a grander, more courtly style which bespeaks of the splendour and assurance of the French court of the period. The combination of a leading sonata followed by a formal dance suite is most appealing and for me, it has much in common with Handel at his most stately. A similarly grand style obtains in Couperin’s two hommages to his inspirational seniors, Corelli and Lully on CDs 5 and 6. The playing is opulent, making a much bigger noise than one might expect from an ensemble of that size.
On CD 6, too, are the Sonate à 8 and Nuit by Charpentier referred to above; the gentle, double flute-led melodies and buzzing low strings of the sonata and the dark, dreamy chord progressions of the interlude mark a complete change of mood, tone and sound-world compared with Couperin. They are rather too closely recorded but if you turn down the sound, the music still retains a sense of intimacy; I think this is my favourites of all the discs in this set.
CD 7 contains the anonymous orchestral transcriptions of Rameau’s six concert pieces of 1740-44. Written in his retirement and considered to be masterpieces equal to his earlier harpsichord collections of 1706, 1724 and 1727, each has three brief, intense movements and the kind of tuneful directness and memorability which always marks his keyboard music but which is here given the extra depth and variety of colour afforded by a large chamber orchestra. These, too are among my favourite items here alongside the Charpentier works.
We return to a world not far removed from Handel’s Fireworks and Water Music in de Lalande’s entertainments designed to accompany royal dining on CD 8, complete with a battery of trumpets and hunting horn. The music is mostly raucous and invigorating, but one number, from the seventh suite, “Deuxième Fantaisie ou Caprice que le Roy demandoit souvent” (Second Fantasy or Caprice that the King used often to request) begins and ends with a slow lullaby “Un peu lent…Doucement” (Rather slow…gently) either side of fast central passage – and is rather lovely, too. For contrasting shock value, try the opening of Mouret’s symphony on track 18: a blast of hunting horns fit to wake the dead. More variety is provided by an operatic extract from Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, the Hunting Scene, with celebrated soprano Christian Eda-Pierre and the Chorale Stéphane Caillat making a brief but delightful contribution.
I had never heard François Francœur’s music before and am impressed by its pageantry, which is enhanced by the brilliance of Maurice André’s trumpet playing, the sonorous horns and thunderous timpani on the ninth, tenth and eleventh CD. Most of CD 11, however, is devoted to the music of Lully and his school. Its restraint and refinement are very apparent after all the razzmatazz of the preceding and succeeding CDs – but it is apparent that the horn-players are battling to stay in tune and not crack in Marc-Antoine de Dampierre’s demanding fanfares.
The twelfth CD sees a complete change of mood and genre with four cantatas for solo baritone and small ensemble. Gérard Souzay brings his customary pellucid diction and light, rather nasal timbre to this music – and given that no texts are provided, that clarity of articulation will at least permit French-speakers to comprehend what he is singing – but vocally he is undistinguished. The music itself is very varied but not very memorable. This is not among my favourites here.
I have already mentioned some of the music contained on the last two discs, especially Charpentier’s Nativity music but of particular interest are Rameau’s overture to Pigmalion and Marin Marais’ Alcyone - orchestral suite, which comes over strongly despite the mono sound, especially in the concluding “Tempest”.
To mention and evaluate every item in this collection would be both superfluous, I think, and trying to the patience of the reader, especially as the standard of both the music and its execution is so consistent, but I hope to have conveyed some notion of the content and quality here.
I am not sufficiently well versed in the historicity of the period movement to opine whether scholarship has much advanced and changed performance practice since these recordings were set down, but to my ears there is nothing heavy or dated about the playing here and intonation and quality of tone – sometimes an issue with earlier HIP recordings – are mostly flawless. Perhaps the prominence of Anne-Marie Beckensteiner’s Neupert harpsichord is a little overbearing in some recordings, but I like to hear its line and jangling textures.
Documentation is fairly minimal – there isn’t much information about the background to individual pieces - but the note by Denis Verroust of the Association Jean-Pierre Rampal sets the general scene nicely and gives Paillard and co their due as pioneering leaders in their field.
Ralph Moore
Contents
Aubert, Jacques (1689-1753)
Concerto à 4 violons in G minor, Op 17 No 6
Blavet, Michel (1700–68)
Flute Concerto in A minor
Boismortier, Joseph Bodin de (1691-1755)
L'automne (extrait des 4 Saisons)
Buffardin, Pierre-Gabriel (1690-1768)
Concerto for flute, strings and continuo in E minor
Campra, André (1660-1744)
Les femmes
Charpentier, Marc-Antoine (1643-1704)
Noels (6) pour les instruments, H534
Sonate à huit, H548
Corrette, Michel (1709-95)
Concertos (6), Op 4
Flute Concerto No 6 in E minor, Op 4 No 6
Couperin, François (1668-1733)
L'Apothéose de Lully
Le Parnasse, ou L'Apothéose de Corelli, grande sonade en trio
Les Nations
Courbois, Philippe (fl.1705-30)
Don Quichotte
Dampierre, Marc Antoine de (1676-1756)
Fanfare (5)
Dauvergne, Antoine (1713-97)
Troisième concert de simphonies à 4 parties in B minor, Op 4
Exaudet, André-Joseph (1710-62)
Sonate en trio in E-flat major
Francoeur, François (1698-1787)
Symphonies du festin royal de Monseigneur le Comte d'Artois
Lalande, Michel-Richard de (1657-1726)
Symphonies pour les soupers du Roy
Leclair, Jean-Marie (1697-1764)
Sonate en trio in D minor, Op 4 No 3
Flute Concerto No 3 in D minor
Oboe Concerto No 3 in D minor
Violin Concertos (5), Op 7
Violin Concertos (6), Op 10
Lully, Jean-Baptiste (1632-87)
Suite de simphonies d’Amadis
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme – menuet
L’air de trompettes, timbales et hautbois fait par M. Lully par l’ordre du Roy
Marche de Savoie
Marche du Regiment du Roy
Les folies d’Espagne
La Marche française
Air de Mr de Lully
Marche des Mousquetaires
Lully et Hotteterre (1673-1763)
Marche des fusilliez
Anonymous Lully’s Disciple
Suite française in G minor
Marais, Marin (1656-1728)
Alcyone: Orchestral Suite
Mouret, Jean-Joseph (1682-1738)
Simphonies pour des violons et hautbois et des cors de chasse
Fanfares pour des trompettes
Naudot, Jacques-Christophe
Oboe concertos in C major, Op 17 No 3
Philidor (l'aine), André Danican (c.1647-1730)
Marche royale à trois
Marche hollandaise
Philidor, François-André Danican (1726-95)
Gavotte de festins
Les échos de Jupiter
La Marche des dragons du Roy
Canon de Versailles à cinq parties
Menuet de l’Orangerie
Gigue des arts
Rameau, Jean-Philippe (1683-1764)
Les six concerts en sextuor
Hippolyte et Aricie – Hunting Scene
Pigmalion - overture
Thétis
Artists:
Jarry,
Gérard (violin)
Rampal, Jean-Pierre (flute)
Beckensteiner, Anne-Marie (harpsichord)
André, Maurice (trumpet)
Christian, Eda-Pierre (soprano)
Souzay, Gérard (baritone)
Chorale Stéphane Caillat
