musica Dei donum
Concert reviews
"Oh, ma belle brunette"
A nocte temporis/Reinoud Van Mechelen
concert: May 16, 2024, Zeist, Church of the Community of Moravian Brethren
anon:
Il était un espagnol;
Je ne veux plus aimer rien;
L'autre jour ma Clori;
Le beau berger Tircis;
Les rossignols par leur tendre;
Oû êtes-vous allés, mes belles amourettes;
Sur le bord de la Seine;
Taisez-vous ma musette;
Tu ne dois pas jeune Lisette;
Jacques COCHEREAU (c1680-1734):
Plaignez-vous ma Muzette;
François COUPERIN (1668-1733):
6e Ordre in B flat (Les bergeries);
Jean-François DANDRIEU (1681-1738):
2e Suite (Le Concert des Oiseaux: Le Ramage);
Jacques-Martin HOTTETERRE 'le Romain' (1673-1763):
Prélude in g minor;
Marin MARAIS (1656-1728):
Prélude [Livre III];
Sarabande - Gavotte en rondeau [Livre I];
Monsieur de LA FERRONNERIE (18th C):
Suspendez quelques temps;
Michel Pignolet DE MONTÉCLAIR (1667-1737):
Les tourterelles;
Joseph VALETTE DE MONTIGNY (1665-1738):
Calme mes déplaisirs;
Robert DE VISÉE (c1650-1720):
Suite in a minor (chaconne)
Reinoud Van Mechelen, haute-contre;
Anna Besson, transverse flute, musette de cour;
Ronan Kernoa, viola da gamba;
Simon Linné, theorbo;
Loris Barrucand, harpsichord
One of the main genres of musical entertainment in 17th-century France was the air de cour. It had its origin in the 16th century, when it was polyphonic. In the 17th century airs de cour were set for one to four solo voices to an accompaniment of lute or viola da gamba, and with time increasingly often basso continuo. Towards the end of the 17th century this genre turned into the so-called brunette, which was not fundamentally different from the air de cour. However, the subject matter became more closely to the ideal of the time, and especially that of the higher echelons of society: rural life. Authors, artists and composers idealized life at the countryside. Paintings by the likes of Watteau attest to that. In music the word champêtre was often used as the title of compositions or movements of larger works. The vie champêtre - life at the countryside - attracted a strong attraction. One may interpret this as a form of escapism: it distracted from the trials and tribulations of daily life.
"The Brunettes carry us off into a rural, bucolic world in which Shepherdesses, sometimes mythological, sometimes earthlings, are frolicking about with gay abandon. Their long-lasting success speaks to the taste of the upper classes for this mythical, pastoral world of which L'Astrée (published from 1607 to 1627), a pastoral saga by Honoré Durfé that exercised incontrovertible influence on both literature and the consequent music, was certainly the precursor", a commentator writes. The ensemble A nocte temporis, founded and directed by Reinoud Van Mechelen, performed a programme of brunettes, alternating with instrumental pieces, from the early 18th century. Most of the pieces are anonymous; the texts may be of traditional origin, and probably not connected to a particular author. The scorings are different: some of the pieces were sung unaccompanied, such as Sur le bord de la Seine and Il était un espagnol. The latter was a kind of satirical song with a refrain, which Van Mechelen invited the audience to sing along.
Other songs have a basso continuo accompaniment, here performed on viola da gamba, theorbo and harpsichord in different combinations. In this concert the ensemble focused on songs in which a melody instrument participates. The transverse flute was undoubtedly the most popular choice for such parts: it gained popularity since the early 18th century, and developed into the most revered instruments among amateurs, for whom brunettes were written and published in the first place. Composers explored this popularity, not only by including it in brunettes to accompany the voice, but also with instrumental arrangements of brunettes. Anna Besson played the flute parts in the songs with great sensitivity and a good feeling for their poetic content.
There were a few surprises. First, Anna Besson was mentioned as flautist, but when Reinoud Van Mechelen prepared for Plaignez-vous ma Muzette by Jacques Couchereau, she entered the hall playing that particular instrument, a so-called musette de cour, an instrument that also became very popular, and was - alongside the vielle (hurdy-gurdy) - the embodiment of life at the countryside. Texts often referred to the musette; one of them was this particular song, which was followed by the anonymous Taisez-vos, ma musette. The second surprise came in Tu ne dois pas jeune Lisette: "You must not, young Lisette, choose another shepherd than me." The song ends with a réponse: "I want always to be Lisette, laughing and singing is all to me". Here Van Mechelen and Besson swapped roles: the latter sang the words, and proved to have a nice voice, and Van Mechelen played the flute, which he did very well.
It was good to hear that the songs were performed at full length. Some were quite long, with six stanzas, in which often lines were repeated. As these pieces are strophic, the music remains the same. That may seem a bit too much, but composers usually added a double: a repeat with diminutions. And from performers of high calibre, like the members of A nocte temporis, one may expect that they add diminutions of their own making as well. And then there is the way the texts are treated: Van Mechelen showed to be a master in exploring the content of each song and stanza.
The last item, Suspendze quelques temps by Monsieur de La Ferronnerie showed that the repertoire of brunettes has its dark streaks too: "Nothing can please me, and your touching songs cannot console unhappy lovers. A young beauty holds me in her power. I cannot be loved by her, night and day I sigh." It received a highly expressive performance.
The songs were separated by instrumental pieces, which reflect the same spirit as the songs. The title of François Couperin's Les bergeries (the pastorals), with the telling addition naïvement, from the 6e Ordre in his second book of harpsichord pieces, was an eloquent example. From Dandrieu we heard an imitation of warbling from a 'concert of birds' and from the pen of Michel Pignolet de Montéclair Les tourterelles - literally "the turtledoves", but this bird is also the symbol of love. It is one of the animals which also figure in the brunettes. Obviously, the nightingale could not fail to make an appearance (Les rossignols par leur tendre). With pieces for the viola da gamba by Marin Marais and for theorbo by Robert de Visée, we heard music for two highly-revered instruments of the time. They gave Simon Linné, Ronan Kernoa and Loris Barrucand the opportunity to show their skills.
The repertoire performed at this concert is little-known, but in recent times several ensembles devote themselves to its exploration. One of them is A nocte temporis. The programme they performed in Zeist was identical with their recording which was released on the Alpha label a few years ago. Even if one has that disc in his collection, a live performance is well worth attending as it is always different, especially when there is a good interaction within the ensemble, and with the audience, as was the case here.
The performances were justifiably received with great enthusiasm by the audience, which resulted in an encore: a magnificent air de cour by one of the masters of that genre: Michel Lambert.
Johan van Veen (© 2024)