French Baroque Music

[chasmaniac]

The sound alone of 2 bass viols playing together is worth the price of admission. Les Voix Humaines, Concerts a Deux Violes Esgales

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[Mandryka]

The sound alone of 2 bass viols playing together is worth the price of admission. Les Voix Humaines, Concerts a Deux Violes Esgales

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Yes I agree it's wonderful. I like Vol 3 most. I prefer it to Savall's record of Saint Colombe.

[Mandryka]

I wonder if anyone shares my enthisiasm for this. Fuller, along with Gilbert, is probably my favourite Rameau player.

[bumtz]

Blandine Rannou playing Rameau is among my favorite harpsichord recordings! It is avaialble as a part of a budget Zig-Zag 5-CD box: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celebration-10-Years-Zig-Zag/dp/B000WPJ7ES/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1337284220&sr=1-1

[TheGSMoeller]

Just received this disc of Hewitt performing Rameau on piano, very exquisite sound and refined playing. Contrasts nicely with my Pinnock recording on harpsichord.

[Que]

Blandine Rannou playing Rameau is among my favorite harpsichord recordings! It is avaialble as a part of a budget Zig-Zag 5-CD box:

I very much agree, but that must be a single disc?  Here is the complete set of 4 discs:

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Q

[milk]

I very much agree, but that must be a single disc?  Here is the complete set of 4 discs:

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Q

Her Pièces de clavecin en concerts (with ensemble) shown here is interesting. It has really grown on me after a few years of being stuck on Sonnierie. I'm still working on the solo harpsichord stuff. I first experienced these pieces through Kenneth Gilbert. Her's is so different. And the sound quality on the Gilbert recording is not fantastic, although I love his feel for the music. Rannou's harpsichord sounds brilliant.   

[bumtz]

I very much agree, but that must be a single disc?  Here is the complete set of 4 discs:

[asin]B00005BCWZ[/asin]

Q

Well, I guess I now know what CD I'll be buying next.

[Mandryka]

Her Pièces de clavecin en concerts (with ensemble) shown here is interesting. It has really grown on me after a few years of being stuck on Sonnierie. I'm still working on the solo harpsichord stuff. I first experienced these pieces through Kenneth Gilbert. Her's is so different. And the sound quality on the Gilbert recording is not fantastic, although I love his feel for the music. Rannou's harpsichord sounds brilliant.   

Somethimes I feel that the problem with Rameau performance has to do with being too beautiful. Compare Rannou and Leonhardt in L'enharmonique or the sarabande from the A minor Nouvelle Suite (pieces  which I'm very much intersted in.) Leonhardt  is much more meaningful for me, because there's more pain there,  less lyrical  beauty.

I feel quite strongly that the few pieces of solo Rameau that GL left are some of his most exciting contributions.

There's also an issue about flow in these slow pieces of music. In Leonhardt you don't hear the music as sewn together.

[Coopmv]

I very much agree, but that must be a single disc?  Here is the complete set of 4 discs:

[asin]B00005BCWZ[/asin]

Q

Q,  Thanks for the heads up on this set, which I bought last year at a great price ...

[milk]

Somethimes I feel that the problem with Rameau performance has to do with being too beautiful. Compare Rannou and Leonhardt in L'enharmonique or the sarabande from the A minor Nouvelle Suite (pieces  which I'm very much intersted in.) Leonhardt  is much more meaningful for me, because there's more pain there,  less lyrical  beauty.

I feel quite strongly that the few pieces of solo Rameau that GL left are some of his most exciting contributions.

There's also an issue about flow in these slow pieces of music. In Leonhardt you don't hear the music as sewn together.

Thanks. I'm downloading these tracks per your recommendation.

[Mandryka]

I hope you like it. Another piece by GL which I love is L'entretien des Muses.

[milk]

I hope you like it. Another piece by GL which I love is L'entretien des Muses.

Yes, just comparing him to the Rannou (which I like), I feel there's an expansiveness to the Leonhardt. Leonhardt says what he wants to so succinctly (an objective comment?). I'm hearing rays of afternoon sunlight in Leonhardt (a subjective comment?). 

[Mandryka]

Which version of L'entrtien des muses are you listening to? I have it by GL twice, once from 1962 (Teldec)  on a wonderful twangy instrument, and one from 1991 on DHM. The latter is more explansive -- over two minutes longer that the former. I like both.



The harpsichord on the Teldec is just unbelievably gorgeous. The booklet says it's W. Rück Nürnberg 1956-1957 after Karl August Gräbner, Dresden 1782. If anyone knows more recordings on a similar sunding instrument please let me know  -- French, German, Italian, Spanish, British baroque, Poulenc . . .  I don't care.

[Leo K.]

Somethimes I feel that the problem with Rameau performance has to do with being too beautiful. Compare Rannou and Leonhardt in L'enharmonique or the sarabande from the A minor Nouvelle Suite (pieces  which I'm very much intersted in.) Leonhardt  is much more meaningful for me, because there's more pain there,  less lyrical  beauty.

I feel quite strongly that the few pieces of solo Rameau that GL left are some of his most exciting contributions.

There's also an issue about flow in these slow pieces of music. In Leonhardt you don't hear the music as sewn together.

This is right on, and I agree wholeheartedly.

[milk]

This is right on, and I agree wholeheartedly.

I downloaded mine from the 80th Jubilee release. I wonder which it is. Maybe the newer one? Lately I've also been comparing Rannou to Gilbert. I really like the Gilbert a lot. I guess others can explain - if you know these recordings. Is it the singing quality of Gilbert's playing? It's quite an old recording: on "Archiv." His Gigues en Rondeau in D minor, La Follette, and Les Niais de Sologne are stirring. I've also been listening to Skip Sempe's Rameau (Rameau: La Pantomime - Pièces de clavecin). He does La Triomphante at breakneck speed. His performances with Olivier Fortin (two harpsichords) are a lot of fun, especially La Livri, La Cupis and La Coulicam (that is, if you want to be ensconced in harpsichords).   

[Mandryka]

I downloaded mine from the 80th Jubilee release. I wonder which it is. Maybe the newer one? Lately I've also been comparing Rannou to Gilbert. I really like the Gilbert a lot. I guess others can explain - if you know these recordings. Is it the singing quality of Gilbert's playing? It's quite an old recording: on "Archiv." His Gigues en Rondeau in D minor, La Follette, and Les Niais de Sologne are stirring. I've also been listening to Skip Sempe's Rameau (Rameau: La Pantomime - Pièces de clavecin). He does La Triomphante at breakneck speed. His performances with Olivier Fortin (two harpsichords) are a lot of fun, especially La Livri, La Cupis and La Coulicam (that is, if you want to be ensconced in harpsichords).

No it's the earlier one, the  one the twangy harpsichord. I like both the GL Rameau recordings but I think that the second one -- the one you don't have unfortunately -- is deeper, more probing, more revealing. 

There's some very good F. Couperin on that Teldec disc, preludes. I think I prefer F Couperin to Rameau. I'm not sure.

[Mandryka]

Thanks for your post. After reading it, I realized I had it but hadn't listened to it. Now I'm doing so. Yes, I'm moved by his performance. And the instrument sounds beautiful.

I've been listening to some records of Les Pavots, from the 27th order. I heard Scott Ross, Kenneth Gilbert, Olivier Beaumont and Angela Hewitt and Frederick  Haas. Haas seemed to be way way deeper than all the rest, very moving and really capturing something of the dreaminess you would want from a piece of music about opium.

I'm very interested in these late pieces by F. Couperin. If anyone has some suggestions for good records I'd be keen to follow them through. I still haven't heard Spieth: I'm going to try to download it when I'm next in France. Also Blandine Verlet's record of the 27th order should be available next month -- an essential purchase for me:

[Mandryka]

I wonder if someone can help me out.

I want to find the texts -- in Latin though preferably with a translation into either English or French -- of the selections from Lamentations which Couperin used in the  Leçons de ténèbres. But I just can't find this on line.

I've just downloaded the Rousset record with Gens and Piau and I want to start to listen. But one thing I've learned is that, for me, in baroque music, it really helps to follow the text.

[DieNacht]

This one ?

http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Le%C3%A7ons_de_t%C3%A9n%C3%A8bres_(Fran%C3%A7ois_Couperin)


http://www3.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Lamentations_of_Jeremiah

The article on Couperin´s "Lecons" there
(link, apparently can´t be copied to here) specifies the selections he used.