Couperin: Apothéose de Lully & Les Nations

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The orchestration is the work of Raymond Leppard, who directs some alert and stylish playing from the keyboard: the English Chamber Orchestra respond excellently and the 1966 recording is quite... — Penguin Guide, 2011 edition More…

Release Date: 12th Jul 2010
Catalogue No: ELQ4802372
Label: Eloquence
Length: 75 minutes

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Couperin, F: L'Apothéose de Lulli

Work length28:50

$4.25

$5.75

English Chamber Orchestra
Raymond Leppard
Recorded: 1966

Nos. 1-4

Track length9:25

$0.85

$1.15

Nos. 5-7

Track length3:10

$0.85

$1.15

Nos. 8-9

Track length4:27

$0.85

$1.15

Nos. 10-11

Track length4:34

$0.85

$1.15

Nos. 12-15

Track length7:14

$0.85

$1.15

Couperin, F: Les Nations: Premier Ordre 'La Françoise'

Work length18:57

$9.90

$13.50

Thurston Dart (harpsichord), Desmond Dupre (viola da gamba), Sir Neville Marriner (violin), Carl Pini (violin)
Jacobean Ensemble
Thurston Dart
Recorded: 1962
Recording Venue: London

1. Sonade

Track length7:33

$1.10

$1.50

2. Allemande

Track length1:25

$1.10

$1.50

3. Courante

Track length0:49

$1.10

$1.50

4. Seconde Courante

Track length0:46

$1.10

$1.50

5. Sarabande

Track length2:26

$1.10

$1.50

6. Gigue

Track length1:02

$1.10

$1.50

7. Chaconne en Passacaille

Track length3:20

$1.10

$1.50

8. Gavotte

Track length0:40

$1.10

$1.50

9. Menuet

Track length0:56

$1.10

$1.50

Couperin, F: Les Nations: Deuxième Ordre 'L'Espagnole'

Work length27:48

$11.00

$15.00

Thurston Dart (harpsichord), Desmond Dupre (viola da gamba), Sir Neville Marriner (violin), Carl Pini (violin)
Jacobean Ensemble
Thurston Dart
Recorded: 1962
Recording Venue: London

1. Sonade

Track length9:05

$1.10

$1.50

2. Allemande

Track length1:28

$1.10

$1.50

3. Courante

Track length1:03

$1.10

$1.50

4. Seconde Courante

Track length1:07

$1.10

$1.50

5. Sarabande

Track length1:48

$1.10

$1.50

6. Gigue Lourée

Track length1:30

$1.10

$1.50

7. Gavotte

Track length1:14

$1.10

$1.50

8. Rondeau

Track length3:20

$1.10

$1.50

9. Bourée & Double

Track length1:05

$1.10

$1.50

10. Passacaille

Track length6:08

$1.10

$1.50

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About

Recordings: 1962, Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, (Les Nations) & Kingsway Hall, London, UK, 1966 (Apothéose de Lully)

One of Couperin’s most important, varied and profound compositions, Apothéose de Lully is cast in a programmatic form. Each movement tells a section of the story of the acceptance of Lully into Parnassus, his meeting there with Corelli (the founding fathers of the rival French and Italian styles), and Apollo's persuading of them to bring about a reconciliation of the two styles for the sake of ‘la perfection de la Musique’. Originally indicated to be performed on two harpsichords, or even as a piece for chamber orchestra, Raymond Leppard has carefully devised the piece in such a way as he thinks it might have been played in a formal concert performance, drawing clues on instrumentation from contemporary operatic scores.

The companion piece on this CD, the first two ‘ordres’ of Les Nations is performed by one of the early pioneering Baroque ensembles, The Jacobean Ensemble (with Neville Marriner playing first violin) under Thurston Dart. Reviewing the recording in November 1962, Gramophone praised the recording for being ‘distinguished by the finesse of playing and a sense of style that is all too rare in modern recordings of 17th-century masterpieces. The elegance, grace, and charm of these suites for the standard trio-sonata group reach the listener with an air of easy authority, thanks to the expert handling of ornaments by these four players. The violins of Neville Marriner and Carl Pini blend as smoothly as one could wish, and Desmond Dupre’s gamba is skilfully balanced into the ensemble, whose mainstay and prop is the harpsichord realisation in the capable hands of Thurston Dart. The individual character of these pieces emerges vividly and naturally, and will surely give pleasure to all connoisseurs of French music.’

First release on CD.

Reviews

2011 edition

The orchestration is the work of Raymond Leppard, who directs some alert and stylish playing from the keyboard: the English Chamber Orchestra respond excellently and the 1966 recording is quite superlative in its range and clarity of definition.

Couperin: Apothéose de Lully & Les Nations

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