Les Apotheoses
On this CD:
1. L'Apothéose de Lully, for 2 treble instruments & continuo
Composed by Francois Couperin
Performed by Hesperion XX
2. Le Parnasse, ou L'Apothéose de Corelli, trio sonata for 2 violins & continuo (Les Goûts réunis)
Composed by Francois Couperin
Performed by Hesperion XX
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Francois Couperin penned his tributes to Corelli and Lully in 1724, in historical proximity to the then-popular debates between French and Italian music styles. Both compositions are riven with humor, bearing sentence-long subtitles that place Corelli and Lully in various mythological positions. The music in the Corelli suite presents fugues and alternating, slow-moving Italian-tinged elements. Since Lulli was, as historians note, Italian in all ways except for the name-ending "y" that replaced the "i," it's no surprise that Couperin would again merge international styles in the second apotheosis. The piece is delightful in its spry clip and humor, with the sections named on the CD by Bernard Herve in a stately manner. The music is rich in its orchestral scope, despite it being pared down to this chamber-sized performance. It's a nice exercise in contrast to play this version of these compositions back-to-back with the dual-harpsichords on Harmonia Mundi's L'Apothéose de Lulli, which retains the original spelling of Lulli's name while also playing the compositions in a leaner, more sizzling fashion. --Andrew Bartlett
Les Apotheoses, Music, Couperin, Hesperion XX, Huggett, Banchini, Etc, Classical
Music Review:
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