François Couperin was one of the
key figures in music life in Paris and at the court at Versailles
from the 1690s onwards. Coming from a family of organists,
his first official position was that of organist at St Gervais
in Paris, which he inherited from his father. In 1693 he
became organist of the Chapelle du Roy. His main instrument
was the harpsichord. He was active as a harpsichord teacher
in aristocratic circles. Even before being appointed 'ordinaire
de la musique de la chambre du Roi pour le clavecin' in 1717,
he had already been asked by Louis XIV to play regularly
in chamber concerts at court. For these concerts he composed
some of his most famous pieces, like the 'Concerts Royaux'
and the 'Nouveaux Concerts'.
This disc opens and ends with
two sonatas which were written in the first half of the 1690s
and were never published. Couperin is known for being a champion
of the 'goûts-réünis', the mixture of Italian and French
style, which he demonstrated so impressively in the 'Concerts
Royaux' and the 'Nouveaux Concerts'. The first signs of this
preference can be found in these early pieces. The French
style is represented by the first two movements (fast - slow),
which are modelled after the French overture, and in the
description of the individual movements: 'gayement', 'gravement',
'vivement' etc. It is a shame these titles are omitted in
the tracklist. At the same time these sonatas follow the
Italian style - modelled by Corelli - with their sequence
of slow and fast movements, and the strong contrasts between
and within movements. Some of these have an almost theatrical
character, something one doesn't find very often in French
music. The sonatas are played with great intensity. An interesting
aspect is the use of two original violins from the Metropolitan
Museum of Art: a Stradivari of 1691 and an Amati of 1669;
each delivers a gorgeous sound.
Couperin composed a large number
of harpsichord suites, called 'Ordres', which contain many
character pieces. One of them is 'Le Dodo où l'amour au berceau',
a kind of lullaby. It is played here with strings only, but
fails to impress in this scoring. It is the only disappointing
item here.
Forming the core of the programme
is the two suites Couperin wrote for the viola da gamba.
They were published in 1728, the year of the death of France's
greatest viol player and composer, Marin Marais. These are
the last important compositions for this instrument, which
in Couperin’s time was quickly going out of fashion as the
growing influence of the Italian-style favoured the violin
and the cello. It lasted about two centuries before these
suites were rediscovered, mainly because on the title page
the composer is only referred to with his initials: "Mr.
F.C."
The suites are generally considered
some of the best music ever written for the instrument. They
are in strictly French style, beginning with an overture,
which is followed by a sequence of dances. It is only the
first suite, though, which follows the traditional pattern
of the suite: allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue, with
an additional gavotte and closing with a passacaille or chaconne.
In the second suite the overture is followed by a fuguette
and two character pieces - as in Couperin's harpsichord suites
-: 'pompe funèbre' and 'La Chemise blanche'. The individual
movements stand out because of their rhythmic contrasts (Suite
No. 1, courante) and expressive harmony (Suite No. 2, pompe
funèbre). There is also plenty of virtuosity, in particular
in the last movements of both suites (Suite No. 1, passacaille
où chaconne; Suite No. 2, La Chemise blanche). Jay Bernfeld
delivers splendid performances. His virtuosity is impressive,
but he also catches the expressivity of the slow movements
very well, as in the 'pompe funèbre' of the 2e Suite, with
the addition of the 'très gravement', and the 'sarabande
grave' of the 1er Suite.
This is an outstanding recording,
which brings some of the best pieces from Couperin's oeuvre.
Even those who already have all of Couperin's ensemble pieces
on their shelf - for instance Musica ad Rhenum's excellent
complete recording (Brilliant Classics) (see review)
- should not miss this disc, in particular as it is reissued
at budget
price.
Johan van Veen
BUY NOW
AmazonUK AmazonUS
Capriccio Stravagante: Manfredo
Kraemer, Katharina Wolff (violin), Jay Bernfeld (viola da gamba - solo),
Carol Lewis (viola da gamba), Michel
Murgier (basse de violon), Mike Fentross (theorbo), Skip Sempé (harpsichord)
