L’Anthologie Sonore Vol. 2 – Haydn, Richter, Couperin, Bach, Pezel – Yves St-Laurent YSL 78 1484 (60:40)[78experience.com] ****:
The second in the series L’Histoire de la Musique par le Disque, Yves St-Laurent features music extending over five centuries, the 78 rpm shellacs having been processed by Yves St-Laurent’s using audio tubes equipment from Denis Pelletier. No dates accompany the individual compositions, but that the originals derive from electrical shellacs remains obvious but not distracting.
The first two chamber music selections, those of Haydn and Richter, feature the gifted brothers, violinist Jean Fournier (1911-2003) and cellist Pierre Fournier (1906-1986), working with pianist Jacques Fevrier (1900-1979). The 1797 Haydn Trio No. 45 in E-flat Major combines learned intellect and canny humor, especially in its outer movements. The tender second movement, Andantino ed innocentemente in B, segues seamlessly into the last movement: Allemande: Presto assai, a German folk dance whose rustic energies have the principals in lighthearted, genial throttle. That this work and other like it from Haydn influenced Beethoven seems undeniable.
Franz Xavier Richter (1709-1789) endures as a representative of the Mannheim school of composition, noted for its rocket figures in orchestral music and occasional use of strict polyphony, His gentle “Larghetto” from the Piano Trio in A relies on canonic entries and a lovely, grand intonation from the two strings. The filigree becomes a parlando colloquy at times, inserting strategic trills, though the keyboard involvement remains restricted, often shadowing or prefacing the string line.
François Couperin (1668-1733) conceived his Concert Royal No. 2 in 1712, a suite of five movements in galant style. The unnamed musicians of the Society of Viols and Clavecins play with a distinctly nasal sonority, their sense of linear give-and-take quite pronounced. Even as “dance music,” the staid tempos suggest more of a sedentary experience than one for lively feet. The opening and closing movements, “Prélude” and “Écho,” enjoy an affectionate rendering.
The major work under consideration, Bach’s 2-Klavier Concerto in C Major, has a realization using two harpsichords, an unknown orchestral ensemble and conductor.
The rendition, from the opening movement – unmarked by any tempo indication – urges a dynamic thrust and forward motion, the string ensemble’s merely underlining the cadences. Likely conceived as a 2-klavier solo, the harpsichords indulge in constant, antiphonal dialogue, quite thrilling in its own terms. For the second movement, Adagio ovvero Largo, 6/8, the continuo strings remain silent. The last movement, a dazzling fugue, 4/4, exerts an energy competitive to what Geza Anda and Clara Haskil achieve in their classic performance on the modern piano. Ruggero Gerlin and [the mysterious] M. Charbonnier prove perfectly suited to a collaboration of suavely astute precision.
German composer Johann Pezel (1639-1694), himself a competent trumpet master, conceived his (five) Cortèges et Danses pour cuivres (brass ensemble) around 1678. After stately movements, the “Intrade” and first “Allemande,” the “Courante” resonates with especial clarity. The second “Allemande,” in dotted rhythm, resembles a brass motet in its alternately imitative and monophonic voicings. The “Gigue” moves in canon, its affect close to a hunting scenario or triumphal celebration.
Gaston Michelletti, a tenor born in Corsica who served the Opera Comique between 1925 and 1946, intones a series of seven Airs sérieux et à boire, accompanied by harpsichordist R. Gerlin. The selections date from 1690–1722, and Micheletti’s flexible voice shapes the contours of each song, devoted either to the spirit of dance or of intoxication. The contributor of two of these chansons, Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, lived from 1667-1737, and his chief legacy lay in introducing the double bass to the opera orchestra.
Five Dances of the 13th Century conclude this musical tour into the past: two English and two French dances and one ‘Ballo Italien.” The Medieval aura makes its presence known in the pair of solo winds and the forward sonority of the drum (tambour). The “Stantipe anglaise” omits the tambour. M. Crunelle’s ability to sustain a long line on the pipe or “small flute” earns our praise. M. Dedondue’ efforts on the Renaissance oboe (musette) no less invite admiration.
–Gary Lemco
L’ Anthologie Sonore Volume 2
Contents:
HAYDN: Piano Trio No. 45 in E-flat Major, Hob XV:291;
RICHTER: Trio in A – Larghetto2;
COUPERIN: 2 Concert Royal3;
BACH: Concerto in C Major for 2 Klaviers, BWV 10614;
PEZEL: Cortèges et Danses pour cuivres5; Airs sérieux et à boire66; Danses du 13th siècle7
Performing Musicians:
1,2Jean Fournier, violin/ Pierre Fournier, cello/ Jacques Fevrier, piano/
3Societé Violes et Clavecins/
4Ruggero Gerlin and M. Charbonnier, klaviers/
5E. Faveau, A. Adrano, H. Couillard, A. Lafosse, R. Tudesq, brass Soloists of the Opera of the Republican Guard/
6 G. Micheletti de l’Opera comique et Ruggero Gerlin, clavecin/
7M. Crunelle, small flute/ M. Dedondue, musette/ Clayette. tambour
