The period of the French Revolution and its aftermath, to Napoleon’s Empire and even the monarchical Restoration that followed, is one of the most obscure in the history of French music. Very few composers (and even fewer female composers) are associated with it in recordings and concerts. In our collective memory, after the baroque Rameau, we have to jump almost a century to the Romanticism of Berlioz to find an artist we are familiar with. And yet, without being a treasure chest of unjustly forgotten major masterpieces, this troubled page in French history nonetheless conceals some very nice nuggets and a few artists who deserve some esteem.
The excellent Mathieu Lussier and his accomplices Amanda Keesmaat and Christophe Gauthier believe that this is the case with Étienne Ozi, a bassoonist considered to be the greatest of his time, who died in 1813. He wrote nearly 20 concertos for the Concert spirituel, in addition to many others by his colleagues. The bassoon method he wrote and published in 1803 was the first of its kind and as thorough in French. He was also one of the first teachers at the brand-new Paris Conservatoire. In short, he was an artist of undeniable importance whose compositions we can legitimately rediscover with interest.
Here, the bassoon/cello/harpsichord trio of Lussier/Keesmaat/Gauthier perform Ozi’s cycle of Six grandes sonates pour le basson. The music is tinged with elegance and discursive refinement. The melodic lines are clear, but rather elaborate. The complexity of Ozi’s music is not to be found in meaty counterpoint, but rather in an often extended linearity.
There’s nothing revolutionary about these scores, but frankly, they’re an immense pleasure to listen to for any music lover with even the slightest curiosity. The interpretations are precise, heartfelt and convincing.
The programme ends with a very amusing contemporary sonata by François Vallières, who couldn’t resist the temptation to evoke another 20th-century ‘Ozi’: Ozzy Osbourne (Ozzyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!). His three-movement sonata is reminiscent of the British hard rocker’s jewels, with titles like Sinister: ‘Diary of a Madman’, Passacaglia, Solemn: ‘Mr. Crowley’ and Allegro: ‘Crazy Train’. Delectable and irresistibly playful. Admit it : you made the connection too!
A beautiful album of hidden delicacies, played and recorded with the utmost care.
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