March 11, 2006

Unitarian Church of Princeton

8:00 p.m.

 

The Shepherd and the Courtier:

Music of the French Baroque

 

Laura Heimes, soprano

Donna Fournier, viola da gamba

Janet Palumbo, harpsichord

with guest artist

Richard Sutcliffe, pardessus de viole and viola da gamba

 

 The pardessus de viole is the six-string, soprano member of the viola da gamba family, with a range roughly that of the violin.  Developed and played almost entirely in France, its used spanned the 18th century.  It was particularly popular among the upper classes, whose social taboos prohibited them from playing many instruments, including the violin.  This concert explores the music cultivated in France during the reign of Louis XV for this aristocratic instrument (the courtier), including works that idealized the simpler, pastoral life (the shepherd).

The Program:

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689-1755)

Sonata for pardessus de viole, viola da gamba, and basso continuo, op.37, no.3 (1709)

Allegro – Largo – Allegro

Jean Barrière (1707-1747)

Sonata for pardessus de viole and basso continuo, book 5, no.4 (1739)

Adagio – Allegro – Adagio – Aria

Michel Pignolet de Montéclair (1667-1737)

Le Triomphe de la Constanse, cantata for soprano, viola da gamba, and basso continuo, (1709)

Jacques Morel (c1700-1749)

Chaconne for pardessus de viole, viola da gamba, and basso continuo, (1710)

Barthélèmy de Caix (b.1716)

Sonata for two viole da gamba, op.1 (c1745)

Allegro – Sarabanda (Adagio) – Pantomime (Allegro)

Anonymous

Suite for unaccompanied viola da gamba from "Hedwig Mörnor's Viola da Gamba Book" (c1735)

[Prelude – Sarabande – Menuet – Fantasie – Gavotte en Rondeau – Courante Immortelle – Gigue]

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)

Cantate pour le Jour de la Saint Louis, for soprano, pardessus de viole, and basso continuo (c1730)