The Versailles Revolution
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (1632-1687)
Roland, LWV65: Suite (1685) [21:06]
Georg MUFFAT (1653-1704)
Florilegium secundum: Fasciculus I - Nobilis Juventus (1698) [13:01]
Marin MARAIS (1656-1728)
Ariane et Bacchus: Suite (1696) [27:59]
Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra/Barthold Kuijken
rec. 2014, Ruth Lilly Performance Hall, Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center,
University of Indianapolis, USA
NAXOS 8.573868
[62:06]
Not long ago I
reviewed
an earlier recording by these performers entitled The Lully Effect
(Naxos 8.573867). I found the performances, from a group which I hadn’t
encountered before, revelatory. Despite the appearance of his name in the
title, Lully’s music doesn’t feature as much on that earlier CD as that of
two composers whom he influenced: Telemann and Rameau. On the new release he
is more substantially represented;
his suite from Roland occupies a third of the proceedings.
Immediately, that’s one of the big pluses of the second
Indianapolis recording: there
is no other available version of this suite, though an aria from the
complete opera features on an Erato album of Divertissements de Versailles: Great Operatic Scenes (0927446552:
Les Arts Florissants/William Christie) and a very fine account of the complete opera is available
to download, albeit without booklet (Ambroisie AMB9949: Les Talens
Lyriques/Christophe Rousset). Substantial excerpts from the Rousset
recording are available on Les Grands Eaux musicales de Versailles
(Naïve Ambroisie AM167 –
review).
Barthold Kuijken takes the Overture at a statelier pace than Rousset
without losing any of the momentum of the music. Despite my enthusiasm for
the Ambroisie recital when I heard it, the Naxos approach now seems more
appropriate for music associated with Versailles. Rousset, on the other
hand, gives a longer account of the chaconne, a dance movement which
by Lully’s time had certainly shaken off its racy origins, but there’s
nothing hurried about the Indianapolis account with slightly fewer repeats
taken. In both performances this movement is the epitome of the music for
Versailles. If you want a blend of orchestral and vocal music, go for the
Rousset; for the orchestral suite Kuijken and his team will do very nicely.
The Naxos notes speak of the expressive depth of Lully’s chaconnes - exactement!
There are several recordings of Muffat’s Florilegium primum, but
fewer of its successor Florilegium secundum. An Archiv recording
rescued by Presto as a special CD and also available as a download includes a
17-minute excerpt, but not the music included on the Naxos recording. That
leaves only The Academy of Music and Christopher Hogwood in the complete Florilegium secundum (Decca 4759118, download only, budget price)
and an Accent recording of Music at the Bavarian court recorded by Stylus
Phantasticus (Harmonie des Nations, ACC4200). The Hogwood was a
pioneering recording in 1981; it lent its name to the Oiseau-Lyre
Florilegium series and it’s still very worthwhile, but the new recording
gives it a good run for its money unless you want the complete work, which
would be no bad thing.
Marin Marais is more often associated with music for the viols. I can’t
find any other recording of any part of his tragédie en musique from
Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Ariane et Bacchus, in the catalogue on
CD or as a download, so the new recording is welcome for this even more
than for the other items. Muffat’s own preserved performance instructions
have been followed for this recording.
Despite the rarity of these works, all the music breathes the
spirit of the French court and, with the influence of Lully clearly at work
throughout, this is if anything even more tempting than the earlier CD. Very
fine performances and recording make it all the more desirable.
As before, the virtues of this release are rounded off with very worthwhile
notes from Thomas Gerber and Barthold Kuijken, the latter amply justifying
the use of the word ‘revolution’ in the album title. Naxos CDs are still
good value – you should be able to find this for just over £6 or
around $9 – but better
value still as a download; in this case you can find 16-bit for less than
£4 and hi-res for less than £5. Or, if a member, you could stream from
Naxos Music Library.
(Beware: one dealer, bizarrely, is asking much more for an mp3 download
than for the CD! Where do these crazy pricing policies come from?)
Why have we had to wait so long for these two very fine releases? Is there
more in the pipeline? If not, please, Naxos, get back to Indianapolis
post-haste and record some more.
Brian Wilson
