FORQUERAY
Suites Nos 1-5
Atsushi Sakai, Marion Martineau (viol), Christophe Rousset (harpsichord)
Aparté AP 122 199:12 mins (3 discs)
One of the celebrated viol players at the court of Louis XIV, the notorious but prodigiously gifted Antoine Forqueray was said to ‘play like the devil’ – indeed, his lurid biography suggests the two were in league. Such facility on the instrument resulted in highly idiomatic, often virtuoso writing that fully exploits the rich potential of this ‘king of instruments’: layered counterpoint, resonant harmonies, ornate and lyrical melodies, and a gamut of colours, shades, and special effects. Forqueray’s suites consist of colourfully-named movements, including dances, fantasy-like musings, evocations of places and sounds, or character portraits of friends and fellow composers like Couperin, Rameau, and Leclair. So forward-looking is some of the…
