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Track(s) taken from CDA67325

La grande pièce royale, S161

composer
before 1695; performance materials prepared by Dr Lionel Sawkins

Ex Cathedra, Jeffrey Skidmore (conductor)
Recording details: October 2001
St Jude-on-the-Hill, Hampstead Garden Suburb, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Mark Brown
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: October 2002
Total duration: 8 minutes 34 seconds

Cover artwork: Apotheosis of King Louis XIV of France. Charles Le Brun (1619-1690)
Musée Ingres, Montauban, France / Bridgeman Images
 

Reviews

‘This CD will do much to further De Lalande's reputation … gripping choral singing … stylish playing … highly attractive’ (BBC Radio 3 CD Review)

‘Jeffrey Skidmore and the orchestra and choir … perform these works stylishly, executing decorations with a gentle, almost casual swagger and responding to the shape and stress of phrase as if to the Gallic manner born. The soloists, an impressive line-up of Baroque specialists, more than live up to their reputation’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Treat yourselves and stand by to be impressed by all concerned’ (Early Music Review)

‘Wow! This is a thrilling release, of proud and sparkling music, performed with evangelical fervour and presented in recorded sound that’s as good as it can get … if you’ve never bought a CD of French Baroque in your life before, here’s the place to start’ (International Record Review)

‘These are early music performances of the highest standard … this recording will delight admirers of the French baroque, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to more general listeners’ (American Record Guide)

‘The performances are of supreme quality … both for its outstanding musical and executant qualities it demands a place on the shelves of anyone interested in Baroque choral music’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Ex Cathedra, an English ensemble, delivers uniformly excellent performances’ (Goldberg)
The subtitle of this piece—Deuxième Fantaisie ou Caprice que le Roi demandait souvent (‘Second Fantasy or Caprice which the king often requested’)—is testament to the fact that Lalande’s popularity was not restricted to his grands motets. Indeed, instrumental pieces by the composer were regularly performed during the suppers of Louis XIV and XV, and the present work would have been played in that context. Its six continuous movements are distinguished from each other both in tempo (Un peu lent – [Vite] – Doucement – Gracieusement – Gaiement – Vivement) and in character. Written for strings, oboes and continuo, the latter group of players includes a bassoon, which emerges on a number of occasions with a strikingly independent melodic line.

from notes by Shirley Thompson © 2002

Le sous-titre de cette pièce—Deuxième Fantaisie ou Caprice que le Roi demandait souvent—témoigne du fait que la popularité de Lalande n’était pas limitée à ses grands motets. Effectivement, les pièces instrumentales du compositeur furent régulièrement exécutées durant les soupers de Louis XIV et de Louis XV. C’est dans ce contexte que cette œuvre fut exécutée. Ses six mouvements continus se distinguent les uns des autres par leur tempo (Un peu lent – [Vite] – Doucement – Gracieusement – Gaiement – Vivement) et leur caractère. La grande pièce royale est écrite pour cordes, hautbois et continuo, ce dernier comprenant notamment un basson dont la ligne mélodique étonnamment indépendante émerge de temps à autre.

extrait des notes rédigées par Shirley Thompson © 2002
Français: Isabelle Battioni

Der Untertitel dieses Stückes—Deuxième Fantaisie ou Caprice que le Roi demandait souvent („Zweite Fantasie oder Caprice, das der König oft verlangte“)—belegt die Vermutung, dass Lalandes Popularität nicht auf seine grands motets beschränkt war. Tatsächlich wurden Instrumentalstücke des Komponisten regelmäßig während der Diners von Ludwig XIV. und Ludwig XV. aufgeführt und auch das vorliegende Stück ist wahrscheinlich in einem solchen Rahmen gespielt worden. Die sechs Sätze folgen ohne Pause aufeinander und unterscheiden sich durch verschiedene Tempi (Un peu lent – [Vite] – Doucement – Gracieusement – Gaiement – Vivement) und durch verschiedene Charakteristika. Das Stück ist gesetzt für Streicher, Oboen und Continuogruppe mit Fagott, das mehrmals mit erstaunlich selbstständigen melodischen Linien hervorgehoben wird.

aus dem Begleittext von Shirley Thompson © 2002
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

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