We may not instantly associate the solo concerto with French baroque
music. It came into existence in Italy around 1700 and was then developed by
Vivaldi. His concertos set the standard which was soon to be followed by
composers across Europe. They also went down well with audiences. In the
1720s even the French fell for them, after years of resistance to anything
Italian. Vivaldi's concertos, and especially his
Four Seasons, were
regularly performed at the Concert Spirituel, the main institution of public
concerts in Paris. There Jean-Marie Leclair also frequently appeared to play
his sonatas. His various collections show an increase of Italian influence.
Leclair had started his career as a dancer. In 1722 he acted in this
capacity in Turin. This was a turning point in his life. He met the then
famous violinist Giovanni Battista Somis who may have stimulated Leclair
into develop his skills as a violinist. He did so with great success and
soon was celebrated as one of the greatest violinists of his time. His fame
spread across Europe and he played, for instance, in Germany and the
Netherlands. He lived for some years in The Hague, where he was in close
contact to the court of the House of Orange. Here he may also have renewed
his friendship with his Italian colleague Pietro Antonio Locatelli who at
the time lived in Amsterdam. The strong Italian flavour in Leclair's violin
concertos may well be due to Locatelli's influence. Some of the solos in the
concertos op. 7 show some similarity with the
capriccios which
Locatelli included in his violin concertos op. 3,
L'arte del violino.
In order to become a better composer Leclair took lessons from
André Chéron, a harpsichordist who regularly accompanied him
at the Concert Spirituel. In the dedication of his op. 7, published in 1737,
Leclair specifically mentioned Chéron saying that "if any beauty may
be found in this work, I credit it to the expert lessons I received from
you". These "expert lessons" included harmony and counterpoint. The result
was that Leclair wasn't only celebrated as a virtuoso violinist but also
ranked among the best composers of his time.
The concertos are all in three movements, with the exception of the
Concerto II which begins with a short adagio. It is not a fully
developed movement, though, and the violin has no solo part. The following
allegro ma non troppo is full of double-stopping. Here we find a solo
episode without participation from the other instruments, and this is close
to Locatelli's capriccios. The closing
allegro includes various
dialogue passages: the short statements of the solo violin are answered by
statements from the tutti violins.
The disc opens with the
Concerto V which is probably the
best-known of the set. Its central movement, with the indication
largo -
adagio, is a piece of great expression. It is in such movements that the
French style comes to the fore. The closing
allegro assai is
theatrical in character. One of the most brilliant solo parts is in the
opening movement from the
Concerto IV, and another is the closing
vivace from the
Concerto I, where Locatelli once again makes his
presence felt.
The latter concerto and
Concerto VI both have a middle
movement with the indication 'aria gratioso'. These are superb examples of
Leclair's ability to compose in an expressive style. The latter's middle
movement opens with the solo violin playing double- and triple- stopping
which is one of the features of this movement. The other 'aria gratioso'
(
Concerto I) also begins with an episode for violin solo.
This disc bears witness to Leclair's greatness as a composer of
instrumental music. This eminence was well recognized in his time, as the
German theorist Marpurg compared him with the likes of Telemann, Handel and
members of the Bach family. Some years after his death he was called "the
Corelli of France". That is not hard to understand, even for a modern
audience.
The qualities of Leclair are convincingly conveyed in these
performances. The Brazilian-born Luis Otavio Santos, also leader of the
baroque orchestra La Petite Bande, is a brilliant player who meets all the
technical requirements with impressive ease. He never indulges in the
virtuosity of Leclair's solo parts for its own sake. He fully explores the
expressive qualities of these concertos, and is equally at home in the more
lyrical movements, such as the
largo-adagio from
Concerto V.
The orchestra gives excellent support, producing a warm and full sound, and
displaying great agility in the fast movements.
Let us enjoy this fine disc and hope that these performers will have
the opportunity to record the remaining concertos in the near future.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
