COMPOSERS: Couperin
LABELS: DG Archiv
WORKS: Les goûts-réünis ou nouveaux concerts
PERFORMER: Thomas Brandis (violin), Aurèle Nicolet (flute), Heinz Holliger (oboe), Manfred Sax (bassoon), Josef Ulsamer, Laurenzius Strehl (viola da gamba, violone), Christiane Jaccottet (harpsichord)
CATALOGUE NO: 459 484-2 ADD Reissue (1976)
In his Les goûts réünis ou nouveaux concerts, Couperin extended his repertoire of chamber music in which he sought to blend French and Italian elements of style and gesture. These discs contain all ten of the Concerts but omit the ‘Apothéose de Corelli’ which Couperin also included in his anthology. These performances on modern instruments were recorded 25 years ago, just as the ‘early music’ renaissance was gathering momentum. The playing, above all that of oboist Heinz Holliger, is sensitive and musicianly, but I found myself longing for the softer inflections and idiomatic ornamentation which we now take for granted and which lend French Baroque music much of its distinctive character. Enjoyable, all the same. Nicholas Anderson
Couperin: Les goûts-réünis ou nouveaux concerts
In his Les goûts réünis ou nouveaux concerts, Couperin extended his repertoire of chamber music in which he sought to blend French and Italian elements of style and gesture. These discs contain all ten of the Concerts but omit the ‘Apothéose de Corelli’ which Couperin also included in his anthology. These performances on modern instruments were recorded 25 years ago, just as the ‘early music’ renaissance was gathering momentum.
Our rating
3
Published: January 20, 2012 at 1:15 pm