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January 2, 2016
At first sight it would be difficult to imagine two periods in Western history more different that eighteenth century France and 1960s North America.
Consider this though: both periods had more than their fair share of dance "fads" and "crazes"; in eighteenth century France one would encounter dances such as the Gigue, Courante, Chaconne and Sarabande; in 1960s North America their counterparts were the Twist, the Mashed Potato, the Hully-Gully and the Frug.
There are, of course, differences: the longevity of the fads, for one - even Beethoven, for example, was still writing minuets well over a century after the period in question; who, today, is writing twists? And, of course, few, if any, contemporary composers of the 1960s wrote suites of dances; although I, for one, would willingly pay good money to hear, for example, Pierre Boulez's take on the Frug, Karlheinz Stockhausen's setting of the Watusi or Terry Riley's vesion of the Locomotion (actually this is one I can envisage).
Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729) was a child prodigy who played the harpsichord for Louis XIV; even after her marriage in 1684 she continued to teach, compose and perform in Paris, to great acclaim.
Although we, of course, have no way now of confirming her "marvellous facility for playing preludes and fantasies off the cuff...with tunes and harmonies of great variety and in quite the best possible taste, quite charming her listeners", we do have a reasonable amount of her music still extant and, in Katelyn Clark and Emily Redhead, collectively known as Les Amusements de la Chambre, two outstanding musicians to advocate for her work.
Saturday's concert, which included two of Jacquet de la Guerre's sonatas for violin and harpsichord and the A minor harpsichord suite - all composed of dance movements - started Victoria's musical year off in superb fashion.
Let me say, immediately, that I have rarely enjoyed a concert of Baroque music which was not written by Bach as much as I did this one. Both musicians seemed at the top of their game, imbuing the faster dance movements with an unquenchable liveliness, while the slower ones were songful and stately.
The opening Sonata in D, from Jacquet de la Guerre's Sonates pour le violon et pour le clavecin of 1707, immediately introduced us both to the individual world of the composer and also to the marvellous playing of Les Amusements de la Chambre; as I wrote in my notebook at the time, theirs is playing that draws attention not to itself, but to the music. I can think of no higher praise.
Jacquet de la Guerre's melodic shapes are particularly interesting - this seems to be common to several of the French clavecinistes - whether in the quicker movements, stylish and undeniably jolly in outlook, or the slow movement, in which the soulful violin was underpinned by waves of harpsichord arpeggios, giving a notably impressionistic feel to the music.
Françis Couperin's Quatrième concert from his Concerts royaux of 1714-15 followed and the performance amply justified the notion that these pieces are the summit of French chamber music from the reign of Le Roi soleil.
From the quite lovely opening prelude, via the elegant and stately Allemande, and the poised and beautiful Sarabande, to the final, intensely rhythmic Forlane (a dance revived by Ravel in - what else? - Le Tombeau de Couperin) the playing gripped the attention and soothed any savage breasts that might have been in attendance.
I must confess, though, that the national characteristics that differentiate the Courante française from the Courante à l'italienne quite escaped me.
Giving her partner a brief rest, Clark opened the second half of the programme with the Suite in A minor from Pièces de clavessin of 1687. Again, this was a superb performance, emphasizing the free and improvisatory nature of much of the music (the opening prelude and the Courante - presumably française). Clark's instrument possesses a lovely tone and she made intelligent and sensitive use of the second manual in the final Menuet.
The closing work was Jacquet de la Guerre's Sonata in D minor, also from the 1707 collection, which served to confirm both the undeniable stature of the composer as well as the perceptive and deeply affecting playing of Les Amusements, every bar of which was underscored by a tremendous rhythmic vitality.
Although Les Amusements de la Chambre no longer make Victoria their home, we should all be grateful that they make regular return visits.
I cannot imagine a more enjoyable start to the musical year.
The duo were also celebrating the (slightly delayed) release of their first CD, Music for Lady Melbourne, containing the complete Op.10 violin sonatas by JC Bach.
Both the music and the performances are a delight; the CD can be ordered from Les Amusements' web site.
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