Country : France Label : Alpha Classics Genres and styles : Baroque Year : 2024

Lucile Boulanger/Simon Pierre/Olivier Fortin – The Golden Hour

· by Frédéric Cardin

The early 18th century in France (as in the rest of Europe) was a time of transition between the viola da gamba, which was living out its last hours of glory, and the violin, which was beginning its irresistible ascent to dominance that is still with us today. The Trio Sonatas presented here therefore have the particularity of offering opportunities for dialogue between the two instruments, in a relatively permissive structure, something that would not last long in history. What’s more, the sonatas played with finesse by this trio of artists also represent a pivotal moment in French musical history, that of a meeting between the Italian and French styles. This fusion, known as “Goûts réunis”, was at the time the equivalent of the first modern encounters between pop and classical music, or between rock and jazz: daring moves that were at one time decried by purists.

In the end, this quibble over fantasised stylistic principles seems quite futile nowadays compared with the pleasure we derive from listening to the scores of Leclair, Boismortier, Dornel, Rebel and François Francoeur. 

Each composer balanced the recipe in his own way, and according to his own personality. Leclair is more Italianate, Dornel more Franco-French, the others somewhere in between. It is always a great pleasure to hear a work of this type by Rebel, often reduced to his extravagant dance music Les Éléments (but less and less so). The dialogue between violin and gamba is rich and varied. The gamba sometimes imitating the violin line, sometimes at the source of a subject that would later be developed by the younger instrument. The difficulty in this operation was to ensure that the harpsichord’s basso continuo did not appear to be stripped bare by the melodic flights of the gamba (which is often used to support the harmonic foundations with the harpsichord). Olivier Fortin admits that he had this in mind when he decided to choose a French instrument with a beautifully rounded bass. It was a wise choice, for the sonic range of the music loses nothing and even gains in ease, which strengthens the Italian part of these admirable ‘Goûts réunis’.

Superb readings by three musicians working in close concert in an elegant and finely descriptive expressive osmosis. 

Latest 360 Content

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Éli Doyon et la Tempête – Attraper le ciel avant qu’il tombe

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Barbara Hannigan; Katia et Marielle Labèque – Electric Fields

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Fire, Fungi, and Family Fun: The ShazamFest XX Experience

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Festival de Lanaudière | Kent Nagano: The eternal, and always welcome, return

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Tyler, the Creator – DON’T TAP THE GLASS

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Off Piknic with Gorgon City, Dennis Ferrer, Riordan, and Linska

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Jeff Bridges – Slow Magic, 1977-1978

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Piknic Electronik | DJ Fuckoff Turns Up The Heat for Pep Rally

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Orford 2025 | Collectif9: folk that innovates and grooves

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | The next global star of Tuareg blues is born, and it is in Montreal

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Ruby Creek – Forget Me Not

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Clipse – Let God Sort Em Out

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Ross Lee Finney : Landscapes Remembered

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Lanaudière Festival | The Sparkle of Strauss, Schumann, and Brahms in Joliette

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Wet Leg – moisturizer

Sister Ray – Believer

Sister Ray – Believer

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Festival de Lanaudière | Franco Fagioli and the voice of bel canto

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | Manamba Kanté, An Undeniable Diva

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nuits d’Afrique | El Gato Negro, A Feline Like No Other

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nights of Africa 2025 | A gnawa fusion reactor named Saïd Mesnaoui

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique 2025 | Sousou and Maher Cissoko: benevolence and complicity

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Nuits d’Afrique | Las Karamba And Their Militant Salsa

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Women shine at the Quebec City Opera Festival

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Festival de Lanaudière | A Successful Choral Evening for Akamus

Subscribe to our newsletter