Barthold Kuijken, Wieland Kuijken, Robert Kohnen - Couperin: Concerts Royaux & Nouveaux Concerts (2004)

Tracklist

01. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 2 In D Major: I. Prelude
02. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 2 In D Major: II. Allemande - Fugue
03. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 2 In D Major: III. Air Tendre
04. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 2 In D Major: IV. Air Contre Fugue
05. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 2 In D Major: V. Echos
06. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 1 In G Major: I. Prelude
07. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 1 In G Major: II. Allemande
08. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 1 In G Major: III. Sarabande
09. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 1 In G Major: IV. Gavotte
10. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 1 In G Major: V. Gigue
11. Concerts Royaux: Concerto No. 1 In G Major: VI. Menuet en Trio
12. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": I. Le Charme
13. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": II. l'enjouement
14. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": III. Les Graces - Courante Francoise
15. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": IV. Le Je Ne Scay Quoy
16. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": V. la Vivacite
17. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": VI. la Noble Fierte - Sarabande
18. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": VII. la Douceur
19. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 9 in E Major, "Ritratto Dell'Amore ": VIII. l'et Caetera Ou Menuets
20. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 7 In G Minor: I. Gravement Et Gracieusement
21. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 7 In G Minor: II. Allemande
22. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 7 In G Minor: III. Sarabande: Grave
23. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 7 In G Minor: IV. Fuguete
24. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 7 In G Minor: V. Gavotte
25. Nouveaux Concerts: Concerto No. 7 In G Minor: VI. Siciliene

Having participated in the unprecedented first complete recording of François Couperin’s chamber music nearly 30 years ago for SEON (now Sony), brothers Barthold and Wieland Kuijken and harpsichordist Robert Kohnen return offering their latest–and often very different–thoughts on four favorites for Accent. In comparison to their earlier effort, we notice the leaner instrumentation (gone are the oboe, bassoon, and additional second bass viol continuo) and the trio’s more assured way with the music. For example, unlike most performers who tend to adopt slower tempos when they return to works that helped establish their reputations, the Kuijkens and Kohnen are consistently quicker and simply more expressive throughout (those occasional awkward faux-elegant reverential pauses that littered their first efforts are nowhere to be heard here). The fourth-movement Gavotte and fifth-movement Gigue of the Premier Concert now effortlessly flow with greater exuberance and panache. And unlike his previous, somewhat hesitant treatment of the second-movement Allemande-Fuguee of the Second Concert, flutist Barthold Kuijken cuts a far more dashing lead here.

Also included are equally vital performances of Ritratto dell’ amore and Septième Concert from Les Goûts réunis. While certainly accomplished, they face significant competition, particularly from Claudio Rufa, Paolo Pandolfo, and Rinaldo Allessandrini, whose performance of Ritratto dell’ amore on Tactus remains the one of choice for a trio setting of the work. Though adopting similar tempos, the Tactus trio’s performance also features crisper, more animated articulation (compare their more striking treatment of the fourth-movement Le je ne say quoy) and occasionally more convincing programmatic allure (the delightfully aloof, marginally more exalted rendering of the sixth-movement La Noble Fierte-Sarabande).

Accent’s sound is lovely–richly detailed with excellent clarity and presence. Pieter Andriessen’s informative yet at times flamboyant notes are great fun. After all this time these guys not only still have what it takes, but they’re performing better than ever.

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