Alexandra Ivanova SENTIMENT

 

SENTIMENT

 

Luc Beauséjour LE RAPPEL DES OISEAUX

LE RAPPEL DES OISEAUX

Alexandre Tharaud VERSAILLES

                                                                   VERSAILLES

Violaine Cochard DUPHLY

My starting point for this programme was nine of my favourite pieces by Jacques Duphly. Why him? First of all because he writes such lovely tunes, starting with the Allemande which begins his First Book. There are also pieces like Les Grâces, of infinite beauty, the Rondeau in D minor, infused with a gentle melancholy, and La Boucon, with its almost romantic surges of feeling. Alongside that tenderness, Duphly is also capable of unleashing tumultuous power, as in Médée, for example. This selection paints the portrait of a composer who was heir to a French art of harpsichord-playing, the heir of Couperin and Rameau. That is why there are no pieces from the more Italianate Second Book, or from the more gallant Fourth Book, which prefigures the fortepiano.

There are already several complete recordings of Duphly’s works. I wanted to do something different, to record only the pieces which move me, my particular favourites. Although it is possible to listen to the pieces singly, of course, I imagined them as a continuous whole.

I conceived it as a concert programme, an exploration of 18th-century French harpsichord music, a dialogue between Duphly and some of hiscontemporaries who share aspects of his sound-world. I thought it would be interesting to contrast Duphly, who devoted his whole life solely to the harpsichord, with composers who had other interests, such as Royer, who wrote several operas, Forqueray, who also played the viol, and the organists Dandrieu and Balbastre. (Violaine Cochard)

Fantasticus SONNERIE & OTHER PORTRAITS

This is a most delightful recital of early-18th-century French Baroque chamber music. The works have been carefully chosen and comprise solos as well as trios. Although some of the works will be relatively unfamiliar to listeners (particularly the Dornel and Francoeur), there are still more of similar calibre waiting to be recorded. This single CD-length programme – only available as a download – could thus easily be added to, an observation prompted by the high standard of playing heard here.

Fantasticus was formed specifically to explore the excesses, shall we say, inherent in the Baroque style and present in some of the chamber music of the late 17th and 18th centuries, as well as to experiment with the limits of associated performing practices. Each member of the trio is a polished period player. Their performances are confident, stylish, beautifully articulated and convey a sense of genuine rapport. This is only their second release, so we have much to look forward to.

All of the composers represented here were equally well known as fine performers in their day. They held posts at the Paris Opéra and at the courts of Louis XIV and XV. The intimate scale of the music on this disc belongs to the salons where French aristocrats indulged themselves and their friends with private performances of virtuoso works, music that was nearly always new and had a certain edge.

Originally a literary genre, portraiture in music was subsequently explored by composers such as Couperin, Marais and Rameau. This recording includes three portraits of the Forqueray family: the Dornel Sonata undoubtedly celebrates Antoine’s penchant for playing Italian violin sonatas on the viol; the Rameau seems more likely to portray Antoine’s son and collaborator; and the mesmerising Duphly most certainly personifies the harpsichordist Marie-Rose Dubois, who was married to the son, Jean-Baptiste-Antoine. Definitely a collector’s item. (Julie Anne Sadie / Gramophone)