Le Concert Spirituel: Baroque music at the time of Louis XV |Savall & Le Concert des Nations

Do you love Baroque music played on period instruments? Are you curious about pieces by Arcangelo Corelli, Georg Philipp Telemann and Jean-Philippe Rameau? Then you’re in just the right place with “Le Concert Spirituel: Baroque music at the time of Louis XV”. Jordi Savall and his orchestra, Le Concert des Nations, all experts in historically informed performances, held this special concert during the 2010 edition of the Festival Musique et Histoire in Fontfroide Abbey, in Narbonne, France.

(00:00) Coming on stage
(00:26) ARCANGELO CORELLI (1653-1713): Concerto grosso in D major, Op. 6 No. 4
(10:23) GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681-1767): Concerto for Recorder and Viola da Gamba and Strings in A Minor, TWV 52:A1
(26:44) GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681-1767): Tafelmusik - Overture & Suite in E Minor for 2 flutes and strings, TWV 55/e1
(51:47) GEORG PHILIPP TELEMANN (1681-1767): Suite in D Major for Viola da Gamba and strings  TWV 55:D6
(1:12:01) JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU (1683-1764): Les Indes galantes (1735)
(1:41:25) Credits

LE CONCERT DES NATIONS
JORDI SAVALL | Viola da Gamba and Musical Direction

Concert Spirituel (French for Spiritual Concert) is the name of the series of concert events that existed from 1725 to 1791 in Paris and was pioneering for the musical taste in 18th century France.
 
At the end of the reign of Louis XIV (1722-1774), so-called “private concerts” came into fashion in France. The music no longer took place in churches and palaces but in private homes and gardens in the open air. These “private concerts” had their golden age in France during the reign of Louis XV (1722-1774).
 
The name Concert Spirituel derives from the fact that the concerts were conceived so that they could be performed during Lent and on other religious holidays of the Catholic Church, a total of some thirty-five days each year, during which all the “profane” activities of the principal musical and theatrical institutions, such as the Paris Opera, the Comédie-Française and the Comédie-Italienne, were brought to a standstill.

Musique et Histoire is an international festival that has been taking place every year since 2006 in Fontfroide Abbey in Narbonne. Its artistic director is the Spanish-Catalan viol player, conductor and musicologist Jordi Savall. The concerts take place at different locations: particularly in the Louis XIV Court, in the abbey’s church and in the refectory for the monks.

Le Concert des Nations was founded in 1989 by the Spanish-Catalan soprano Montserrat Figueras and her husband Jordi Savall. The orchestra is known throughout the world for its expertise in historically informed performances. Since the 1970s, Jordi Savall has been considered one of the world's leading viola da gamba performers and early music specialists. He is relentless in his quest for the perfect, authentic sound – one that literally rings historically true.

© Karl More Productions 2021