Christophe Rousset - Louis Couperin (2010) [2CD] {Aparte}

Christophe Rousset - Louis Couperin (2010) [2CD] {Aparte}

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© 2010 Aparte / Harmonia Mundi | AP006

Classical / Baroque / Harpsichord / Keyboard

The organ music of Louis Couperin, an uncle of François, clearly pointed toward the French High Baroque style and has received a good number of recordings, but his harpsichord music is less fortunate. This is largely because they're imperfectly understood, at both the macro and micro levels. This release by celebrated French keyboardist Christophe Rousset contains half a dozen works designated as suites, but those are entirely his own creation. They exist only in manuscript, grouped mostly by dance rhythm; there are some ground bass pieces and some preludes without bar lines in a separate group. These are the subject of interpretive speculation, as well, and when Couperin's music began to come to light there were some rather woolly versions. Rousset's playing might be described as sensible, and it makes a good place to start for those curious about the sources of the highly stylized French harpsichord music of the early 18th century. Rousset assembles the pieces logically into suites in the same key, beginning with one of the preludes, followed by several dances, and concluding mostly with a passacaille (passacaglia) or chaconne. His playing is stately and rather sober throughout, doing nothing radical with the preludes but letting them set the tone for the rest of the music. Rousset arranges the dances so as to highlight one of the most attractive features of Couperin's music: its occasional tendency toward harmonic shock. Best of all, he uses an unusually old instrument, a 1658 harpsichord that fits the music to a T with its plummy, rather quiet, yet muscular sound. The music here is not François Couperin in chrysalis, but has distinctive charms of its own, and Rousset has done as well as anyone in getting at them. Booklet notes are in French and English. Personnel: Christophe Rousset - Harpsichord Louis Denis 1658 tracklist: CD1 01 - Suite en fa majeur- Prelude 02 - Suite en fa majeur- Allemande grave 03 - Suite en fa majeur- Courante 04 - Suite en fa majeur- Sarabande 05 - Suite en fa majeur- Branle de Basque 06 - Suite en fa majeur- Gigue 07 - Suite en fa majeur- Gaillarde 08 - Suite en fa majeur- Chaconne 09 - Suite en fa majeur- Tombeau de M. de Blancrocher 10 - Suite en sol mineur- Prelude 11 - Suite en sol mineur- Allemande 12 - Suite en sol mineur- Courante 13 - Suite en sol mineur- Sarabande 14 - Suite en sol mineur- Passacaille 15 - Suite en do majeur- Prelude 16 - Suite en do majeur- Allemande 17 - Suite en do majeur- Courante 18 - Suite en do majeur- Sarabande 19 - Suite en do majeur- Passacaille CD2 01 - Suite en do mineur- Prelude 02 - Suite en do mineur- Allemande la precieuse 03 - Suite en do mineur- Courante 04 - Suite en do mineur- Sarabande 05 - Suite en do mineur- Gigue 06 - Suite en do mineur- Chaconne la Bergeronnette 07 - Suite en re mineur- Prelude 08 - Suite en re mineur- Allemande 09 - Suite en re mineur- Courante 10 - Suite en re mineur- Sarabande 11 - Suite en re mineur- Canaries 12 - Suite en re mineur- Volte 13 - Suite en re mineur- La Pastourelle 14 - Suite en re mineur- Chaconne 15 - Suite en la mineur- Prelude a l'imitation de Me Froberger 16 - Suite en la mineur- Allemande l'amiable 17 - Suite en la mineur- Courante La Mignone 18 - Suite en la mineur- Sarabande 19 - Suite en la mineur- La Piemontoise 20 - Pavane en fa diese mineur- Pavane en fa diese mineur