Jordi Savall and Le Concert
des Nations www.alia-vox.com can
always be relied on to bring something new and exciting with their recordings.
Their new release from AliaVox www.alia-vox.com
entitled
Les Eléménts: Tempêtes, Orages &
Fêtes Marines explores the forces of nature vividly depicted by composers
at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, bringing
together Jean-Fery Rebel’s Les Elements
with Matthew Locke’s Music for The
Tempest, Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto
La Termpesta di mare, Marin Marais’ Airs
pour les Matelots et les Tritons, Georg Philipp Telemann’s Wassermusik and Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Orages et tonnerres.
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| 2SACD AVSA9914 |
Recorded live on July 19, 2015 at the Abbey of Fontfroide,
France this concert opens with Jean-Féry
Rebel’s (1666-1747) ballet, Les
Eléménts (The Elements) (1737).
Striking discords open Le Cahos: L'eau -
L'air - La Terre - Le Feu through which a flute can soon be heard bringing
a plaintive melody. All through there are striking moments with Le Concert des
Nations weaving some wonderful sounds with lovely textures and harmonies,
particularly towards the end.
Loure I: La Terre
picks up a stately rhythmic pulse in the strings through which a flute weaves
its melody. Chaconne: Le Feu is even
more lively as the various instrumental strands are woven with some
particularly agile playing from the ensemble in this fast flowing section. Ramage: L'air brings a small group of
strings and flute in this lovely section, beautifully done and quite charming.
The small ensemble expands for the lively Rossignols,
equally charming in its delicate nature.
Le Concert des Nations
weave some fine instrumental lines with a gentle rhythmic pulse in Rondeau: Air Pour L’Amour before Loure II brings the fine sound of
natural brass who deliver a terrific texture, raucous and gritty, the whole
ensemble finding a terrific swaggering rhythm. There is a gentle lilt to Sicillienne with some wonderful
individual instrumental timbres showing through.
Brass return with drums to announce Caprice bringing a marshal feel with some very fine string playing
as the music darts around before developing a terrific sweep. An oboe opens Premier Tambourin: L'eau before
developing quite a hectic pace with strings and percussion pointing up the
music and leading into Second Tambourin,
a slightly more restrained part with mellow woodwind contribution. We run
straight into Premier Tambourin: L'eau
which briefly brings the return of the faster theme before ending suddenly.
When Matthew Locke (c.
1621/23-1677), wrote his music for Thomas
Shadwell’s version of The Tempest (1674) he used, for the
first time in English music, directions such as ‘soft’ and ‘louder by degrees’
and included tremolos for stringed instruments. There is a grand Introduction from Le Concert des Nations,
pointed up by bass drum before they spring into the buoyant, rhythmic Galliard, again with percussion pointing
up and colouring the sound. There are some particularly fine rhythmic string
passages as well as a fine sweep to the music.
There is a brightly lit Gavot,
full of life with terrific rhythms and again marked by percussion to add rhythm
and colour before a Saraband that has
a lovely gentle lilt with the strings of Le Concert des Nations bringing a
lovely texture with the theorbo sounding through. Lilk brings back a boisterous rhythmic section with a terrific pace.
A wind machine opens Curtain
Tune before the drums bring rumbles of thunder, soon followed by a slow mellifluous
melody for strings, nicely decorated by the theorbo. The music picks up in
tempo but there are further slow, beautifully textured passages before the wind
machine appears at the close.
A bright and lively Rustick
Air follows, rhythmically pointed up by drums with lovely woodwind
contribution before the woodwind open Minoit
soon alternating with the whole ensemble. Corant has a fine buoyant rhythmic spring with these players
finding a terrific texture. A Martial
Jigge has a lovely transparent light texture, beautifully sprung before we
arrive at The Conclusion: A Canon 4 in 2
where Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations bring a terrific weaving of
instrumental lines with something of a stately air.
Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations whip up some
terrific textures in the Allegro of Antonio Vivaldi’s (1678-1741) Concerto in F
La Termpesta di mare (The Sea Storm) per
Flauto solo e Corde (1729) before the flute enters in this fast moving
movement. There are rich harmonies from the lower strings as well as some terrific
agility from the flautist.
The lovely flowing Largo
has seamlessly drawn phrases from the soloist before a crisply phrased Presto where there is more tremendous
fluency from the flautist.
Together with Sémélé,
Alcione (1706) is the only opera
composed by Marin Marais (1656-1728).
Gathered together from Alcione are
the Airs pour les Matelots et les
Tritons (Airs for Sailors and
Tritons) with rich sonorities opening the Prélude where Le Concert des Nations provide a terrific sound, full
of individual instrumental detail. There is a really attractive rhythmic Marche pour les Matelots I & II with
percussion to add colour, texture and rhythm before Air des Matelots I & II which brings more forceful, rich
striding rhythms, later speeding up for a very fine section.
Wind machine and drums open Tempête in a wild sequence before the strings join to hurtle
forward through the storm, creating an intensely dramatic piece. Woodwind and theorbo
bring the gentle and beautifully shaped Ritournelle
before the concluding Chaconne pour les
Tritons where the full ensemble provides a fine subtle rhythmic pulse and
some wonderfully French sounding woodwind harmonies in an impressive conclusion
to this work.
Georg Philipp
Telemann (1681-1767) wrote his Wassermusik,
Hamburger Ebb and Fluth (Water Music, Hamburg
ebb and flood) (c. 1740) to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the
Hamburg Admiralty. There is a slow introduction to the
Ouverture (Grave -
Allegro) with long held woodwind phrases over strings before the allegro brings a lithe, lively tempo, full
of forward propulsion and with terrific textures and sonorities. There are some
fine woodwind sounds in the gently flowing Sarabande:
Die schlafende Thetis before a
lively Bourrée: Die erwachende Thetis
with a particularly fine section for flute and bassoon. Loure:
Der verliebte Neptunus has a fine poise, Jordi Savall achieving a subtle
rhythmic lift from his players and carefully controlled dynamics followed by a terrific
little Gavotte: Die spielenden Najaden
so light footed.
Harlequinade: Der
Scherzenden Tritonen brings some lovely instrumental textures and timbres
and a fine rhythmic pointing. The wind machine appears again in Der stürmende Aeolus before strings
enter to drive this section ahead with some impressive fast and incisive string
playing. There is a lovely, nicely phrased Menuet:
Der angenehme Zephir with the lovely woodwind of Le Concert des Nations sounding
through and adding a rather special contribution. Gigue: Ebb Und Flut rises up full of joy and energy before the
jaunty concluding Canarie: Die lustigen
Bots Leute.
Orages et tonnerres (Storms
and thunders) (1735-1749) draws on orchestral extracts from a number of
operas by Jean Philippe Rameau (1683-1764).
A solo violin opens the Air pour les
Zéphirs (Les Indes Galantes) (1735 rev. 1736) soon joined by flute and
theorbo as they weave a slow melody quite beautifully with some quite lovely
sonorities. Orage et air pour Borée, from
the same opera brings back the wind
machine and drums, whipping up some tremendous sounds before the strings bring
a fast moving theme over which winds soar through passages of lively buoyancy.
Even more dramatic drums and wind machine open Tonnerre (Hippolyte et Aricie) (1733
rev. 1742) before fast and furious strings join, bringing a fine drama. The
opera Zoroastre was written in 1749.
Here we have lovely, crisp Contredanse from
that work, pointed up by tambourine and drums before another extract from the
same opera Contredanse très vive that acts as a finale as Jordi Savall and Le
Concert des Nations hurtle ahead full of joy, with rhythmic clapping and some
lovely, distinctively French sonorities before the audience break into an
enthusiastic applause. This would go down well at London’s BBC Proms.
Jordi Savall has gathered together a terrific collection of
music to which he and Le Concert des Nations bring life and buoyancy, colour
and great textures.
They are vividly recorded on SACD and there are excellent
notes by Jordi Savall in the lavishly illustrated booklet full of colour photographs.
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