Classical Music

Classical Music

BOISMORTIER: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord, Op. 91

Les goûts-réünis

The Niquet, Shirley & Dino trio was formed on the occasion of Purcell's King Arthur, a show that marked the lyric stage and the world of the DVD. Five years later, their complicity has been further reinforced, and they present a work close to Herv� Niquet's heart: Boismortier's Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse. This opera-ballet, written for Carnival and first performed in Paris in 1743, occupies a particular place in Herv� Niquet's career since it was the first work played by Le Concert Spirituel 27 years ago: 'In addition to being composed by a genius of the Enlightenment, this comic opera is a gem of music, wit and humour,' says he. The wit of the famous Benizio couple is felicitously expressed in this story of which they have rewritten the comedy scenes, which had disappeared: 'From this succession of episodes, one more incongruous than the next, from this incredible accumulation of remarkably constructed gags (Niquet as Don Quichotte, Corinne Benizio/Shirley in a hilarious cantadora number, accompanied by Herv� Niquet with castanets, Gilles/Dino singing - not too badly! - a courtly air with harpsichord whilst the hysterical Duchess bellows in the wings), ensues a perfectly mad show' (ResMusica). The whole thing with all the necessary strictness in reproducing the music... Worth noting: the performance of the singer-actors and the splendid costumes and sets. A total spectacle filmed at the Royal Opera of the Ch�teau de Versailles. Bonus: a 52-minute documentary on the behind-the-scenes preparation of the production. 'First of all, we must hail the remarkable writing and dramaturgical work that is marvellously faithful to the work's off-beat universe. In phase with the reading of Shirley and Dino, the prize goes to the orchestra and dynamic, lively and invigorating conducting. Decidedly, Niquet has no rivals for transmitting his boundless love for this Poulenc of the Enlightenment.'

We are around the time of the Regency, at the political crossroads between Louis XIV and Louis XV. The viola da gamba was enjoying its last hours of glory in France, while the violin was beginning to take centre stage. The Golden Hour, which generally refers to the periods after sunrise and before sunset when the light changes, evokes here those years of convergence, even confrontation, between a viola da gamba in the twilight of its life and a violin at the dawn of its soloist destiny.

We are taking the liberty of also performing op. 50 as a solo on the viola da gamba. In his title, Boismortier writes: „Pour les Violoncelles, Bassons ou Violes“. We have kept to that. He was practical and versatile – and so are we.

In 1743, two years before Rameau’s Platée, Boismortier created an extraordinarily modern and madcap “comic ballet”, Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse. As the exuberant plot unfurls, Cervantes’ hero encounters monsters, enchanters, princesses and people from Japan, making for plenty of offbeat and audacious dances and choruses. Musical beauty rubs shoulders with satirical and irreverent comedy. A choice work for Hervé Niquet, who leads his Concert Spirituel with unparalleled energy!

The baroque ensemble I Fiori Musicali has chosen Urania Records for their newest production, a collection dedicated to Boismortier. The name of this composer comes after the decline of the great explosion of French artists of the golden age of Louis XIV. He is not comparable to Lully, Couperin or Rameau, but he expresses a whole part of the early French Englightenment and he fights against the school by Rousseau. This album brings available some of the lesser-known but more refined works of the French composer. The ensemble plays on period instruments and follows the proper timeline of Boismortier's compositions.

An agreeable musician, clever, sociable, a shaper of verse, a man of wit whose sallies were greatly appreciated and whose fertile pen was guaranteed to turn out another volume of works every month, Boismortier was the perfect man of his time, courteous, cultured and able to adapt to his surroundings. In this, their first recording, Le Petit Trianon have chosen pieces from his immense body of work that felicitously blend the sonorities of the flute, violin, bassoon, cello and harpsichord.

As attractive as it is fluent and copious in quantity, the music of Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1682–1765) gave immense pleasure to his courtly French audiences, so lucratively that he was able, unusually for his time, to pursue a career loosened from the ties of aristocratic patronage. He embodied the 18th-century homme du monde, and his music always reflects the conviviality and refined taste that permeated every aspect of the Parisian society of the time. This collection of Boismortier’s chamber music opens with the Ballet de village in G Op.52 No.1, published in 1752. A traditional sequence of dance movements is treated in a subtle and charming manner and concluding with a flamboyant chaconne: a stunning example of the composer’s refinement, grace and virtuoso writing for the flute which was his own instrument. This Italian early-music ensemble then explores a more Italian side to Boismortier’s idiom with sonatas from the Opp. 34, 37 and 91 collections. They alternate with excerpts from the vividly pictorial Pièces de clavecin Op.59, which capture archetypes of contemporary French society with wit and even sympathy in works such as La Valétudinaire. The music fits perfectly under the fingers: for clarity, refinement and expressive power these pieces are comparable in form and inventiveness to the keyboard music of François Couperin. Also wholly French in idiom is the Suite in D Op.31 for viola da gamba and basso continuo: its flowing and sensuous cantabile style may even be heard as a homage to Marin Marais, who had died in 1728. This album is the latest in a series of critically acclaimed recordings made by the recorder and flute player and director Stefano Bagliano. Previous Brilliant Classics albums have included concertos and sonatas by Quantz, praised by MusicWeb International as “an excellent recording to become acquainted with Quantz…one might consider getting hold of other recordings of Bagliano after having been left spellbound by his rendering.”

This recording received a 1998 "Critic's Choice" award from Gramophone
magazine.

Stephen Schultz takes on the daunting task of playing all five parts of these Concerti for Five Flutes from Boismortier - a feat never before attempted or accomplished! The French composer Joseph Bodin de Boismortier wrote a great deal of popular music. The transverse flute was his favorite instrument and he considerably extended its repertory. Boismortier's music demonstrates great facility, and one regrets that he wrote so few works on a large scale.

Joseph Boismortier was a French Baroque composer who had to live by his wits, having no patrons or prestigious positions. The notes for this CD quote Jean-Benjamin's assessment in 1780: "Happy is he, Boismortier, whose fertile quill each month, without pain, conceives new airs at will." Boismortier, for lack of a better answer to his critics, would always answer: "I am earning money." His four Ballets de Village are rustic suites that make extensive use of the musette and hurdy-gurdy, instruments considered country cousins, not to be used in "serious" music. Boismortier writes for them with great skill; the droning din they set up is most appealing. This is joyous music, which at times, especially at the beginning to Cinquième gentillesse, is reminiscent of Handel's Water Music. The Serenade is a more "serious" composition. Though it uses folk dances and dance rhythms it omits the rustic instruments, retaining pairs of flutes and oboes as the wind compliment.

All of this delightful music is performed with verve and finesse by the musicians of Le Concert Spirituel, and it's recorded in spacious sound that imparts a feeling of the great outdoors or a meeting hall without muddying any of the exquisite instrumental textures. This is the second CD of Boismortier's music that this ensemble has recorded for Naxos. Let's hope that soon these superb musicians will address the composer's masterpiece: Daphnis et Chloé.

-- Rad Bennett, ClassicsToday.com

In Paris at the end of the Baroque era and with the rising bourgeoisie, a new era dawned for composers after the death of king Louis XIV. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was in the right place at the right time and knew how to meet the burgeoning demand with a nimble pen. He wrote a vast amount of gallant, easily playable chamber music, which he also published himself in an unheard-of way! The Neumeyer Consort presents the two collections of works op. 32 and 37 and combines their trios, quartets and concerto with changing instrumentations to create a colorful painting in the Galant style.