COMPOSERS: Couperin
LABELS: Sony Seon
WORKS: Nouveaux concerts 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 from Les goûts réünis
PERFORMER: Barthold Kuijken (flute), Bruce Haynes (oboe), Janine Rubinlicht (violin), Sigiswald Kuijken (violin, bass viol), Wieland Kuijken (bass viol), Robert Kohnen (harpsichord)
CATALOGUE NO: SB2K 60714 ADD Reissue (1972, 1974)
François Couperin’s period of pre-eminence falls neatly between those of Lully and Rameau, whose rising reputations have rather overshadowed his in recent years. Yet Couperin produced some splendid music: for example, the elegant Nouveaux concerts, written for chamber concerts at the French court and published in 1724 under the title Les goûts réunis (referring to their mixture of French and Italian styles).
This reissue comprises eight of the ten Nouveaux concerts in accomplished period performances from 1972 and 1974. While the leisurely tempi and restrained playing now give the recording a somewhat dated air, the music largely retains its capacity to charm. Graham Lock