Description
This CD presents a collection of Baroque music gems for strings and harpsichord, composed by French creators influenced by Italian music. The combination of those two inspirations in a stylish historical interpretation by a Polish ensemble resulted in a revealing and electrifying recording.
One of the artists presented on the album is Jean-Fery Rebel (1666- 1747), a French violinist and composer, an artist appreciated by the King of France, Louis XIV, who employed him at his court. Rebel would create mainly Italian-style sonatas, characterized by original harmony and rhythm, not always understood and accepted by the conservative listeners of the time. On this album we can find two of them, composed during the Parisian period of the composer's life for violin and viola da gamba with harpsichord.
Another musician would create his works in the environment of the Sun King, namely Antoine Forqueray (1672-1745), a viola da gamba virtuoso, whose performance and compositional talent was appreciated by the great ruler: he paid for his musical education and appointed him royal musician at his court.
A contemporary of Rebel and Forqueray was Louis-Antoine Dornel (1680-1757), also a French composer, harpsichordist, organist and violinist. In addition to his career as an organist, which consumed his energy and time, he also created Italian-style sonatas, responding to the artistic needs of the then French society.
The most famous, however, was François Couperin (1668-1733), known as the Great, one of the greatest composers and harpsichordists of the late Baroque era; he revived French music, combining it with the invigorating stylistic influences from Italy. His concertos kept in that subtle and refined style can be found on this album.
The performers presenting the recordings are the {Oh!} Trio, specializing in stylish historical performance, an ensemble originating from the {Och} Orkiestra Historyczna founded in 2012. The trio includes violinist and artistic director of the group Martyna Pastuszka, Krzysztof Firlus, who plays the viola da gamba, and harpsichordist Anna Firlus.