Search - John Alan Griffiths, Michel Corrette, Francois Couperin :: The Sultan and the Phoenix

Simply delightful

Marion Edwards | Minneapolis, MN | 12/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It doesn't take a connoiseur of French Baroque music to appreciate the delicate appeal of its style. Direct and lively, it can be enjoyed both as a casual entertainment as well as delved into by the serious student of music. The selection of pieces put together by Charivari Agreable demonstrates this admirably.From the deep contemplation of Louis Couperin's Pavanne in F-Sharp Minor to the joie-de-vivre of Armand-Louis' La Cheron, there's something to appeal to everyone in this album. My particular favorite is the dramatic B-minor 'Sonate en Quatuor' by Louis-Antoine Dornel, which rivals the intensity and depth of expression of any more well-known composer.This album also showcases a rarity in the Baroque: the consort of viols. The viol, or viola da gamba, is a six-stringed fretted instrument, related to the guitar and lute but bowed somewhat like the cello. Made in all sizes, it was considered the "Queen of Instruments" through the Renaissance and Baroque, falling into disuse with the Classical era. (The largest size, the violone, survived with considerable modification to become the modern double bass.) If you have seen the movie Tous les Matins du Monde, then you have seen and heard the viol and the music of some of its greatest proponents.While music for solo bass viol is a mainstay of the French Baroque, it was rarely used in consort after about 1650. Charivari Agreable here has culled some fine examples of its later use, however, and arranged some pieces to suit a quartet of viols -- very true to the nature of Baroque music, which considered the musical line quite separable from the instrument used to realize it. The result is a true gem for anyone, and especially the viol enthusiast."