The packaging may be baroque, but François Couperin (1668-1733) was already anticipating Classical forms of accompanied melody when he published his two Suites for Viola da gamba and Harpsichord in 1728.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
Young Finnish period-instrument artists Mikko Perkola (on gamba) and Aapo Häkkinen (harpsichord) make enchanting work of Couperin’s two suites, written out as a melody accompanied by a figured bass — harmonic instructions that act like guitar chords — that lets a keyboard or bass viol player improvise the accompaniments.
Perkola manages to find a compelling balance between silken mellowness and fiery zing as he expertly wields his bow. Häkkinen is confident in his keyboard work, always ready with the right measure of rhythmic as well as harmonic support.
The first piece is a standard, French-style dance suite that opens with a Prélude and continues with six courtly dance forms — Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gavotte, Gigue and Chaconne.
The second suite is a four-movement Italian-style piece that alternates slow and fast movements. The second slow movement is a surprisingly sunny funeral dirge (it even begins in a major key). The final movement is a rollicking affair mysteriously labelled La Chemise-blanche (the white shirt).
To round out the album, Häkkinen presents four movements from Couperin’s 27th Order (collection) of short pieces, all in the dramatic key of B minor.
Couperin published instructions on how to play the harpsichord, entitled The Art of Touching the Harpsichord. He includes helpful hints to the musician on how to sit at the instrument, with body slightly, politely turned towards the listener.
The success of the music rests in being able to toss off a steeple-chase-worth of ornaments and turns as if blithely throwing confetti in the air.
Häkkinen succeeds beautifully, doing Couperin proud by playing in the utmost good taste — an attribute the composer considered to be the paramount goal of any musical performance.
For more details on this fine album, click here.
Here is a sample clip from the album — with audio that doesn’t begin to do this fine recording justice:
And here is the duo playing continuo in an Allemande from an earlier Couperin suite, Les Goûts réunis, with Markku Luolajan-Mikkola playing solo on treble viol (which is violin-sized, but played sitting on the lap):
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
