Coeur, airs de cour francais de la fin du XVIe siecle – Le Poeme Harmonique, Vincent Dumestre (2015) [Qobuz FLAC 24bit/88,2kHz]

Coeur, airs de cour francais de la fin du XVIe siecle – Le Poeme Harmonique, Vincent Dumestre (2015)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/88,2 kHz | Time – 01:04:09 minutes | 1,05 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Master, Official Digital Download | Source: Qobuz | Digital Booklet | © Alpha Classics – Outhere Music
Recorded: German Protestant Church In Paris, France, from 3 To 9 February 2015 & On 9 June 2015.

In this new release, Vincent Dumestre’s Le Poème Harmonique once again immerses us in the France of the second half of the 16th century, which witnessed the emergence of new centres of artistic activity. These ‘bourgeois’ societies were initiated by patron princes concerned with building their prestige through the arts and letters just as much as by arms. At the same time, refined circles held by cultivated women enabled them to rub shoulders with the leading poets of the time, as well as musicians sensitive to humanist research, all profiting from a context propitious to the invention of new artistic forms and practices. The new, more lyrical poetry, inspired by both antiquity and contemporary Italian models, was matched, in particular, by the courtly air, a new musical genre perfectly adapted to the humanist ideals of sobriety and intelligibility of the text.
Through this music, still insufficiently known, this programme invites us to discover a refined poetic and musical universe, witness to a French Renaissance at its apogee, with works by composers such as Pierre Cléreau, Guillaume Costeley, Adrian Le Roy, and Didier Le Blanc.

As usual, Vincent Dumestre, uncontested master of these repertoires, has surrounded himself with the finest singers and instrumentalists, a loyal troupe that exhumes unusual musical treasures, letting us share in them.

The discography of the air de cour, though not huge, is very distinguished, and Le Poème Harmonique have contributed to it more significantly than any other ensemble. A triptych of discs about 10 years ago made a real impact, presenting some of the best-known pieces of the repertory as consort songs, or with a more substantial continuo section than the straight lute accompaniment that had prevailed previously. This winning formula is revisited here, with comparable success for the most part.

Whereas their previous recordings focused on the genre’s well-known exponents, this one features some lesser known figures (though the incomparable Pierre Guédron puts in a few appearances). His Bien qu’un cruel martire is justly one of the recital’s high points but the others come from these minor masters. One such is Gérard de Beaulieu’s Helas que me faut-il faire, which opens the disc; another, Jean Boyer’s brooding Que feray-je?, hints at the darkest tragedy, while Costeley’s J’ayme trop mieux souffrir la mort harks back to the strophic songs of an earlier generation. All these are fully worthy of the ensemble’s preceding recitals. True, two or three of the selections towards the end of the disc aren’t quite on the same level, so that the recital loses a little in intensity as it draws to a conclusion. One could have done, perhaps, with another risqué item like the anonymous Allons vieille imperfaite, or a drinking song (of which there are plenty), for when these singers let their hair down, they bring the house down with it. But that might have worked against the programme’s emotional tenor, which is high seriousness and artifice. The continuo group turn in yet another outstanding performance, and at the risk of repeating myself, Claire Lefilliâtre’s is a voice that one does not tire of hearing. ~~ Fabrice Fitch, Gramophone

Tracklist:

Girard de Beaulieu (1540-1590)
1. Helas que me faut-il faire 02:36

Pierre-Francisque Caroubel (1566-1611)
2. Passepieds de Bretaigne 02:43

Jean Boyer (av. 1600-1648)
3. Airs à quatre parties, Livre I: Que feray-je? 06:17
Anonyme
4. Allons vielle imperfaite 03:45

Pierre Guédron (1565-1620)
5. Airs de cour à quatre & cinq parties, Livre I: Bien qu’un cruel martire 06:36

Pierre-Francisque Caroubel (1566-1611)
6. Spagnolette 03:35

Didier Leblanc (FL. 1579-1584)
7. Sus mon lut, d’un accord pitoyable 03:20
8. Les mariniers adorent un beau jour 04:41
9. Quel secours faut-il que j’atende a ma peine 05:08

Pierre Guédron (1565-1620)
10. Airs de cour à quatre & cinq parties, Livre II: Tant et tant il m’ennuye tant 03:49

Fabrice Marin Caietain (1540-1578)
11. Airs mis en musique… sur les poësies de P. de Ronsard & autres excelens poëtes: Mais voyez mon cher esmoy 04:19
Francesco Lorenzini
12. Fantaisie 03:11

Guillaume Costeley (1530-1606)
13. J’ayme trop mieux souffrir la mort 02:09

Adrian Le Roy (1520-1598)
14. Second livre de guiterre: Ô combien est heureuse 07:05

Pierre Guédron (1565-1620)
15. Airs de cour à quatre & cinq parties, Livre II: Belle qui m’avez blessé 05:00
Personnel:
Le Poème Harmonique
Vincent Dumestre – Guitare Renaissance, Théorbe, Arrangement & Direction
Claire Lefilliâtre – Soprano
Bruno Le Levreur – Contre-ténor
Serge Goubioud – Ténor
Marc Mauillon – Baryton
Julien Chauvin – Violon
Mélanie Flahaut – Flûtes & Basson
Atsushi Sakai – Dessus De Viole
Sylvia Abramowicz – Ténor De Viole
Françoise Enock, Lucas Peres – Viole De Gambe
Angélique Mauillon – Harpe Baroque (Harpe De Simon Capp, 2013)
Pierre Gallon – Clavecin (Clavecin De Jean-françois Brun Cordé De Boyau, D’après Celestini, 1587)