Couperin: Les Nations

Musica Ad Rhenum;
Wentz, Jed

94427

Couperin may have been a contemporary of J.S. Bach, but his life stands in marked contrast to that of the great German. A court composer who worked at the fashion capital of the 18th century, Versailles, he was known as a trendsetter – the author of a stylish and refined style where virtuosity and good taste worked in happy coexistence. This is nowhere better exemplified than in his Les Nations, four trio pieces consisting of a sonata followed by a suite. While three of the Italianate sonatas were composed long before their publication date (1726), Couperin rejects his cultivation of Les Goûts-réünis – a fusion of the two most important styles of that period, French and Italian – for the dances. Here, instead, he opts for an overtly French idiom, one where expression and form are one and the same.

CD x 2

Muzyka klasyczna

Brilliant Classics

13-11-2019

5028421944272