Le Plaintif/Θρηνητικός

An intriguing concept album by Cordevento, featuring a selection of intense, sorrowful French instrumental music from the late 17th to early 18th centuries.

Artists: Cordevento, Erik Bosgraaf (recorders), Izhar Elias (baroque guitar), Israel Golani (theorbo), Alessandro Pianu (harpsichord), Robert Smith (dessus & basse de viole)

The French grand siècle is most often viewed through the gilt-framed mirrors of Versailles, showing the pomp and splendour, the feasts and formality of Louis XIV’s reign. However, the composers of his court took special pains to represent and analyse the human condition in all its moods, not least mourning and sadness. The entire aesthetic imaginary of this era is imbued with the power and charm of tears: the audience – in the words of philosopher Bernard de Fontenelle – wants ‘to be moved, agitated, [...] to shed tears. The pleasure one takes in crying is so curious that I cannot help but think about it.’ The aesthetic of sorrow and grief was so powerful that not even instrumental music could resist its charm. Marais, Hotteterre and their contemporaries wrote eloquent examples of the plainte and the tombeau as well as courantes and allemandes which conveyed a sad and lamenting mood, through slow tempos, minor modes dissonance and chromaticism.

It is from this eloquent repertoire that Cordevento, expanded for the occasion to a five-person lineup, has assembled an imaginative programme. The lion’s share is drawn from two collections of suites en trio by Marin Marais and Antoine Dornel, performed by Erik Bosgraaf (recorder) and Robert Smith (treble viola da gamba) with their colleagues Izhar Elias, Israel Golani and Alessandro Pianu (respectively on baroque guitar, theorbo, harpsichord) providing attentive and generous continuo accompaniment. Erik Bosgraaf also takes the spotlight with a selection of pieces for solo recorder and basso continuo by Hotteterre, Philidor and Montéclair, while his Cordevento co-founders Izhar Elias and Alessandro Pianu contribute solo pieces by Campion and d’Anglebert. Cordevento’s previous albums on Brilliant Classics have won international acclaim.

Track list
00:00:00 Marin Marais: Prélude in G Minor
00:02:17 Marin Marais: Plainte in G Minor
00:05:23 Jean-Henry d’Anglebert: Prélude in G Minor
00:07:10 Jean-Henry d’Anglebert: Passacaille in G Minor
00:12:09 Jacques-Martin Hotteterre: Rondeau tendre le plaintif
00:15:10 Marin Marais: Sarabande in G Minor
00:17:45 Marin Marais: Plainte in B-Flat Major
00:21:23 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Ouverture in G Minor
00:23:55 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Air en loure in G Minor
00:26:21 Michel Pignolet de Montéclair: Plainte in D Minor
00:29:49 Francois Campion: Tombeau in D Minor
00:32:58 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Prélude in D Minor
00:35:03 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Allemande in D Minor
00:37:26 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Plainte in D Minor
00:40:03 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Passacaille in D Minor
00:42:28 Marin Marais: Sarabande in C Major
00:44:49 Jacques-Martin Hotteterre: Prélude in E Minor
00:48:15 Marin Marais: Sarabande en rondeau in E Minor
00:51:26 Marin Marais: Menuet in E Minor
00:52:27 Pierre Danican Philidor: Suite in E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: I. Très lentement
00:55:06 Pierre Danican Philidor: Suite in E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: II. Allemande
00:57:27 Pierre Danican Philidor: Suite in E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: III. Sarabande
01:01:07 Pierre Danican Philidor: Suite in E Minor, Op. 1 No. 5: IV. Gigue
01:03:11 Louis-Antoine Dornel: Chaconne in E Minor