musica Dei donum
CD reviews
Joseph Chabanceau de LA BARRE (1633 - 1678): Airs à deux parties
Claire Lefilliâtre, sopranoa;
Luc Bertin-Hugault, bassb
Les Épopées
Dir: Stéphane Fuget
rec: June 7 - 10, 2023, Sens, Cathédrale Saint-Etienne (chapelle de la Persévérance)
Ramée - RAM 3202 (© 2024) (77'06")
Liner-notes: E/D/F; lyrics - translations: E
Cover, track-list & booklet
Scores
Spotify
Ah ! je sens que mon cœurb;
Allez, Bergers, dessus l’herbetteab;
Allons revoir l’objet de mon tourment;
Cessez Climène de faire voirc;
Depuis quinze jusqu’à trenteab;
Forêts solitaires et sombresa;
Il faut aimer une bergèred;
Pavane d’Angleterre;
Pièces pour clavecin de Monsieur de La Barred;
Plus je pense à ma maîtressea;
Quand une âme est bien atteintea;
Récit sur la convalescence du Roya;
Si c’est un bien que l’espérancea;
Sospiri, ohiméa;
Un feu naissant vient d’enfl ammer mon cœura;
Vous demandez pour qui mon cœur soupireab;
Pierre Chabanceau de LA BARRE (1592-1656):
Tu crois, ô beau soleil
Agnès Boissonnot-Guilbaut, Mathias Ferré, viola da gamba;
Nicolas Wattinne, theorbo (soloc), guitar;
Stéphane Fuget, harpsichord (solod)
Songs for solo voices and accompaniment, first by lute and then by basso continuo, were very popular in 17th-century France. The early form, known as air de cour, had its origin in the late 16th century, where such songs were polyphonic; later some were adapted to the modern taste, and a number of composers started to write new songs of this kind. These were mostly intended for solo voice, but songs for two or more voices were also written. In the second half of the 17th century songs were known as air sérieux, which existed alongside less serious songs, airs à boire. In recent years a number of discs with this kind of repertoire has been released, for instance by Les Arts Florissants, which recorded three volumes on the Harmonia mundi label.
Among the best-known composers of airs sérieux are Michel Lambert, Bernard de Bacilly, Sébastien Le Camus, Pierre Guédron, Antoine Boësset and Étienne Moulinié. The disc under review here is devoted to a lesser-known composer of such songs, Joseph Chabanceau de La Barre.
He was from a musical family, whose members had been in the service of the monarchy since Henri IV (1553-1610). His father, Pierre, was a renowned master at the keyboard, and had become a member of the king's chamber in 1614, organist of the royal chapel and maître joueur d'épinette to the king by 1627, and organist to the queen by 1630. Joseph was also educated as an organist and succeeded his father as organist of the royal chapel after the latter's death. Two of his brothers were also active as musicians, and his sister Anne earned much fame as a singer. With her he made a trip to Sweden at the invitation of Queen Christina. Both were well versed in the Italian style, which in France was promoted by Cardinal Mazarin (himself of Italian descent). Luigi Rossi praised her for the performance of his songs, and she was one of the singers in Cavalli's opera Ercole amante in 1660 in Paris. Joseph also composed Italian songs; one of them was a favourite of Louis XIV.
Only a relatively small number of songs by Chabanceau de La Barre has been preserved. In 1669 Ballard published a collection of eighteen airs à deux parties; four other songs have been included in the long-term series Recueils de vers mis en chant, also published by Ballard between 1661 and 1680. Despite the title of the 1669 edition, La Barre's airs are mostly for solo voice and basso continuo. They are notated in the dessus clef, but Thomas Leconte, in his liner-notes, mentions that this was "more by convention than by purpose", which offers the possibility to perform them with other voice types, as is the case here. In some songs the stanzas are divided among the two singers.
Like most secular music, the airs sérieux are about love, but this subject was to be treated in a refined way, in accordance to the atmosphere in the salons of the aristocracy, where these songs were performed. How the subject was to be treated was expressed by Abbé Charles Cotin, in his Oeuvres galantes (1665): "The true character of those who love is composed of tenderness and plaintiveness. They possess a languid air; they must have the low and slipshod sound of grief [...]. All the words of a true lover, even if he is not unhappy, always have a plaintive tone".
One of the features of performance practice of airs de cour was the addition of embellishments and diminutions, known as doubles in the second stanza, comparable with the doubles which were to become a frequent addition in music for the harpsichord. Chabanceau de La Barre's airs are particularly important as in his printed edition they are written out. "The double was designed to showcase the singer's agility and also permitted him or her to adjust the long and short syllables of the second verse to the music of the first verse according to precise rules of poetic scansion. Although this ornamentation was employed in quantity, it had nonetheless to remain elegant, supple and natural, in accordance with the bon goût that the French preferred in contrast to the exuberant outbursts of the Italians."
Leconte mentions several kinds of ornaments, such as passages, roulades, coulades and ports-de-voix. It would have been useful if they had been explained. I assume that many - probably even most - listeners to a disc like this one are not familiar with these techniques. Passage may be the French equivalent of the Italian passaggio, but given the differences between the two styles, one wonders whether they are different in practice. The roulade is explained at Wikipedia and the coulade and the port-de-voix are explained here. Some information about the performance practice in this particular recording would have been useful as well, for instance the treatment of repeats (often quite a lot, and one wonders whether the airs indicate what should be repeated) and the insertion of ritornellos between stanzas. In some cases the two stanzas are separated by an instrumental performance of the entire song. In addition, some airs are entirely performed instrumentally, on viola da gamba, theorbo or harpsichord.
The programme also includes some original instrumental music. A small number of harpsichord pieces by Chabanceau de La Barre has been preserved, and some of them are recorded here. In addition, we get a piece from the pen of his father, although according to New Grove all the pieces attributed to him are of questionable authenticity.
Most of the airs are sung by Claire Leffiliâtre, who made a name for herself as a member of the ensemble Le Poème Harmonique. She is still going strong, as she proves here with excellent performances and the virtuosic application of the techniques associated with this repertoire, some of which mentioned above. Luc Bertin-Hugault is a new name to me; the performance of airs by a really low voice is something one has to get used to. The baritone Marc Mauillon also recorded airs sérieux, but his voice is lighter, sometimes even going into the tenor range. Bertin-Hugault does sing his songs well, though, and this option offers a somewhat different perspective on these songs. The two voices are a good match in the pieces for two voices. The historical pronunciation is a further asset of this recording, especially as this is still not part of each recording of this kind of repertoire.
The instrumentalists deliver outstanding performances as well. It is nice that they can be heard independently, in addition to their role in the songs. The instrumental performance of some songs is an interesting option and guarantees some variety in the programme.
As I mentioned, several recordings of airs have been released in recent years, and this is a most interesting and musically compelling addition to the discography.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)
Relevant links:
Les Épopées