Rousseau’s
little opera was written immediately after the successful production
of Pergolesi’s “La Serva Padrona” in Paris in 1752. That
had started up a new round of the “querelle des bouffons” (quarrels
of the buffoons) between supporters of the French and Italian
styles of opera. Rousseau had been a strong supporter of the
Italian style since his time in Venice (1743-1744) and wrote
“Le Devin du Village” (The Village Soothsayer) as a French
counterpart to the Italian intermezzi. Amazingly, despite its
flimsy, almost non-existent, plot, it was an instant success
in France and elsewhere. Early private performances included
Marie-Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour as performers, and
in due course it acted indirectly as the model for Mozart’s
early singspiel “Bastien und Bastienne”. It is
a work which is referred to in all musical histories of the
period but which is seldom performed. When it is there is a
considerable surprise, as despite being intended to champion
the Italian style, both its general musical character and the
cut of individual phrases are very clearly French. It does indeed
come across as eclectic in style, with pleasant tunes and orchestration
but lacking any very strongly defined character of its own.
It is nonetheless charming, if overlong, and it is a pleasure
to be able to hear it in such a clear and stylish performance.
It
appears from photographs in the full and helpful booklet that
the recording derives from a staged production in Solothurn
in Switzerland. All three soloists are clearly well aware of
the demands and conventions of music of this period. Whilst
from the point of view of the plot I might have preferred the
singer of the soothsayer to sound older than the other two soloists,
the virtually complete inherent absence of dramatic tension
means that his obvious youth is not a serious fault. I am certainly
prepared to overlook it when, like all of the singers, he sounds
so fresh and so involved in his part. The choir do what little
they have to do well, and the orchestra, on period instruments,
play very stylishly throughout. The booklet indicates that horn
parts have been added by Thomas Leininger to replace those that
were probably originally improvised. I have been unable to obtain
a score so that I am unclear whether the same applies to the
occasional percussion parts.
This
is therefore a very good chance to hear a work more written about
than played. I have not heard the various other recordings that
have been available from time to time, but it is hard to imagine
much more being made of it, and if in the end we may conclude
that its proper place is as a footnote in history, it remains
a curiosity worth exploring. Certainly Rousseau does deserve his
place amongst those composers worth hearing but better known for
their literary works, and which includes such names as Anthony
Burgess, Samuel Butler and E.T.A. Hoffmann.
John Sheppard
