Couperin: Concerts Royaux, Les Goûts-réünis / Cuiller, Stradivaria
Classical | Easy CD-DA | FLAC tracks, CUE, No Log | 1 CD, Covers HQ | 315 Mb
Date CD: 01/10/2006 | Mirare
Classical | Easy CD-DA | FLAC tracks, CUE, No Log | 1 CD, Covers HQ | 315 Mb
Date CD: 01/10/2006 | Mirare
| “ | For more than thirty years, François Couperin was one of the great musical figures at court. But despite this prestigious status, few primary sources concerning him have come down to us. No autograph manuscript has ever been found. If the art of François Couperin has finally survived for posterity, it is entirely thanks to the editions published in his lifetime under a succession of royal privileges. The 'Concerts Royaux' and 'Les Goûts Réunis' form a homogeneous corpus of fourteen groups, very likely composed at the same period, in 1714 and 1715. The title of the second publication is quite explicit; as a great admirer of the Italian masters, and of Corelli in particular, Couperin here displays his resolve to work towards a synthesis of the French and Italian styles, thus combating those supporters of French music who still refused to countenance art from beyond the Alps. With their great melodic inventiveness, the 'Concerts Royaux' and 'Les Goûts Réunis' offer a body of chamber music full of variety and contrast; they combine elements of French grace, restraint and intimacy with Italianate energy, brilliance and vitality. | ” |
