Jacques-Martin Hotteterre was a member of a dynasty of musicians,
instrument-makers and composers who were closely associated with the court
in France from the mid-17th century until the end of the
ancien
régime. As performers they played wind instruments of various kinds,
such as the transverse flute and the oboe. The former was the instrument of
Jacques-Martin who added
Le Romain to his name during his stay in
Rome from 1698 to 1700. Those years had a strong influence on his
development as a composer.
Hotteterre contributed to the growing popularity of the flute in the first
quarter of the 18th century. At the end of that period it was almost as
popular as the violin. The Italian influences in Hotteterre's oeuvre
cannot be overlooked. These are present in the first collection which he
published as his op. 1 in 1708, which was reprinted in a revised edition in
1715 (recently recorded by Camerata Köln;
review). However, that collection includes suites
whose movements have French titles and often have the form of character
pieces. In his op. 3 Hotteterre only makes use of the form of the Corellian
sonata da camera: they are all in four movements, and most of the
second movements take the form of a fugue. The titles are still in French,
and so are the character indications, such as
gracieusement and
légèrement. Otherwise these sonatas are more Italian in character
than French.
This could well have contributed to the performances being as convincing
as they are. The ensemble of Italian musicians here has a very good feeling
for the features of the sonatas. Also the considerable contrasts between the
various movements are perfectly conveyed. The third movements are usually
the most expressive: all but one having the indication
grave.
French elegance comes especially to the fore in the opening
préludes, with indications
gravement or
lentement.
The addition of harpsichord pieces by Jean-Henry d'Anglebert may
come as a bit of a surprise, especially since he is of an earlier
generation. In his time Italian music was treated with contempt and you will
look in vain for any Italian influence in his oeuvre. The only collection of
music which was published in his lifetime was the
Pièces de
clavecin of 1689 while some pieces come down to us in manuscript form.
There is no lack of recordings of his keyboard works, but what we get here
is a part of his output which has not received that much attention.
D'Anglebert was one of the first to transcribe instrumental pieces
from operas by Lully for harpsichord. Thise was the start of a tradition
which would last until the end of the 18th century.
The last composer to make such transcriptions was Claude-Bénigne Balbastre
(1727-1799). However, he added much material of his own to make the
transcriptions more virtuosic. D'Anglebert is more modest in his
approach. He "rather focuses on adapting them to the sound and range of
the harpsichord, thereby maintaining or indeed enhancing the original
expressive content", as Basilio Timparano states in the liner-notes.
Having listened to some of Balbastre's transcriptions only a short
while ago I am much more impressed by D'Anglebert's efforts in
this department. They stay closer to the originals and demonstrate that the
extras are not needed to turn these pieces into full-blown harpsichord
works. Timparano delivers very fine performances.
The connection between Hotteterre and D'Anglebert is that both were
admirers of Lully and his operas. Bringing them together also shows how
French music developed from the pure style of the latest decades of the 17th
century to the
goût réuni of the first quarter of the 18th. Those
interested in French music of the
ancien régime should add this
nice disc to their collections.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
https://twitter.com/johanvanveen
Track listing
Jacques-Martin HOTTETERRE
Trio sonata No. 2 in D [5:44]
Jean-Henry D'ANGLEBERT (1629-1691)
Chaconne de Galatée* [2:38]
Jacques-Martin HOTTETERRE
Trio sonata No. 4 in e minor [11:01]
Jean-Henry D'ANGLEBERT
Ouverture de Cadmus* [3:23]
Jacques-Martin HOTTETERRE
Trio sonata No. 6 in G [5:34]
Jean-Henry D'ANGLEBERT
Chaconne de Phaëton* [4:16]
Jacques-Martin HOTTETERRE
Trio sonata No. 3 in b minor [6:08]
Trio sonata No. 5 in A [8:11]
Trio sonata No. 1 in g minor [7:16]
Jean-Henry D'ANGLEBERT
Air d'Apollon du Triomphe de l'Amour* [3:32]
Passacaille d'Armide* [5:24]
