L’ Anthologie Sonore Vol. 1 – Mozart, Rameau, Milan, Ortiz, Purcell, Dalayrac, Janequin – Yves St-Laurent YSL 78 1483 (65:42, complete listing below) [78experience.com] ****:
This first of three assemblages of French musicians in selected – and even ancient – chamber music opens with a performance of Mozart’s 1784 B-flat Sonata for Violin and Piano, featuring Henry Merckel (1897-1969), who led the violin section of the Paris Opera for forty years prior to his solo career on records. Merckel’s is a fast-paced performance that exemplifies his light bow arm and swift tempo adjustments, especially in portamentos. His tonal palette never deviates from a sweet luxury of sound, unforced and unassertive. If you enjoy Mozart for the Gallic approach, a supple and flexible upper line that relishes any number of inflected nuances, then Merckel is your man. YSL provides no date for the recordings, but the transfer from 78rpm shellacs sounds relatively clear of ticks and swish, and the placement of Merckel and fluid accompanist Hubeau allows each his presence. A lovely, expressively intimate Andante leads to the finale, the Rondo: Allegretto, a frenetic dash in balanced, animated phrases. The level of writing invites virtuoso facility from both performers, who blend in a thoroughly idiomatic rendition of a work Mozart intended for his Vienna public.
We travel back to the time of Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) whose 1741 Pièces de clavecin require Pauline Aubert to realize a fully scored obbligato part, a virtuoso demonstration in which the accompaniment falls to the violin and viola de gamba. In D Minor, the Concert No. 5 opens with La Forqueray (Fugue), followed by La Cupis and La Marais, character pieces. The silken ensemble performs Rameau with a fluid, tasteful security, the upper voices nasally resonant in a transparent, dancing texture.
As if the Rameau clavecin part did not insinuate the lute tradition blatantly enough, the next selection, Luis de Milán’s Three Pavanes for Vihuela, make the association definite. The vihuela constitutes the Spanish version of a 16th Century lute. Spanish guitarist Emilio Pujol (1886-1980) intones the brief dances in plastic, polyphonically resonant tones. Luis Milan (1500-c.1565) is followed by his contemporary Diego Ortiz (1510-1570), whose stately Ricarcada enjoys all the earmarks of a fluent, somber ceremonial whose advancing expressiveness in variation gains considerable power in antique, sonorous tones.
The uncredited Orchestre that performs a suite of eight 16th Century dances captures the courtly mode and nobility of the occasion. A stylistic sameness avoids monotony simply because the clear, inflected phrases enjoy a smooth polish and sense of transition. The No. 2 and No. 3 express more pomp, perhaps in imitation of Lully. The No. 6, in dotted rhythm, makes a fine contrast with its quick-step predecessor, No. 5. The last two dances demonstrate sudden adjustments in dynamics, effective and to the point.
Henry Purcell’s so-called “Golden Sonata” in F Major, Z810 (1680) came to be published posthumously in 1697, as 10 Sonatas in Four Parts, by his widow, in dire need of money. The ensemble takes the first movement, sans tempo marking, as an Allegro. The rich, antiphonal texture celebrates Purcell’s expressive line in colorful conversation. The second movement, Largo, sighs in melancholy, drooping figures. The third movement, Canzone, proceeds as a contrapuntally martial exercise, though the spirit shines with energetic optimism. With the succeeding, brief Grave, the sensibility shifts to a mysterious form of lamentation. A lively Allegro concludes the Sonata, vigorous and exuberant, whose final page flutters away.
The Fourth Quartet for Strings by Nicolas Dalayrac (1753-1809) projects our sensibilities forward into the Classical period, with two movements, respectively Allegro commodo and Minuetto. The warmth of the playing from Quatuor Pascal testifies to an improved sonic medium, likely from a later electrical recording. The sheer facility of composition places these two excerpts as competitive with Mozart and Haydn in skill and manipulation of musical materials. The soft drone effects of Mineutto the bespeak an arresting charm in this composer’s style.
The program ends with an a cappella rendition of music of Renaissance master Clément Janequin, his “Song of the Birds.” An extended piece in shifting rhythms and textures, the richly layered polyphony rises in ardent contemplation of Nature. The male and female voices divide then blend, often alternating their chattering, twittering pulse to effect marvelous syncopations as the avian assembly rises and shifts direction. The section devoted to the cuckoo makes a playfully powerful impression.
Yves St-Laurent derives this collection from his own resources and those of Pierre-Jean Gauthier. The resonant transfers come to us courtesy of Denis Pelletier. As a diverse, sonic festival, the disc comes highly recommended.
—Gary Lemco
L’ Anthologie Sonore Volume 1
Contents:
MOZART: Violin Sonata No. 32 in B-flat Major, K. 4541;
RAMEAU: Pièces de clavecin en concerts No. 52;
MILAN: Trois pavanes pour vihuela3;
ORTIZ: Ricercada pour viola de gamba4;
Anon: Danceries de françaises du 16th siècle5;
PURCELL: Sonata in F Major “Golden Sonata”6;
DALAYRAC: Cinquième quatuor à cordes7;
JANEQUIN: Le chant de oiseaux8
Performing Musicians:
1Henry Merckel, violin; Jean Hubeau, piano/
2Jean Pasquier, violin; Eva Heinz, viola de gamba; Pauline Aubert, clavecin/
3Emilio Pujol, vihuela/
4Von Leeuwen Boonkamp. Viole de gamba; Erwin Bokly, clavecin/
5Orchestre de violons, altos, gambes et basses/
6J. Pasquier et E. Ferret, violins; R. Gerlin et E. Pasquier, basse continue/
7Quatour Pascal/
8La Chanterie de la Renaissance Française: Henry Expert
More information through St Laurent Studio
