1er Caprice, Caprice de Villers-Cotterets: 1 Fierement et detaché - Gracieusement - Un peu plus gay - Viste 2 Gracieusement sans lenteur 3 Vivement 4 Trio 5 Air 6 Vivement - Doucement - Vivement 1ere Suite: 7 Prélude 8 Air grave 9 Trio 10 Petit Air 11 Passacaille ou Grande Piéce 3eme Suite: 12 1er Air 13 Rondeau 14 Loure 15 1er Menuet & 2eme Menuet alternativement 16 Grand Piece in D la re. Passacaille 5eme Suite: 17 1er Air G re sol 18 2eme Air leger 19 Air gay 20 Sarabande en Rondeau Grande piece en G re sol "Fantaisie ou Caprice que le Roy demandoit souvent": 21 Un peu lent - Viste - Doucement 22 Gracieusement - Gayment - Vivement 3eme Caprice: 23 Gracieusement - 2eme Air. Mineur 24 Air 25 Gigue. Gracieusement 26 Quatuor. Doucement - Prélude 27 Air vif
Immediately after starting in his post as Surintendant de la Musique de la Chambre in 1689, Delalande began composing instrumental movements. These suites were chiefly intended for the king's soupers which, as the sociologist Peter Burke has pointed out, resembled a ritual: "Louis might eat more formally (the grand couvert) or less formally (the petit couvert), but even the least formal occasions, tres petit couvert, included three courses and many dishes. These meals were performances before an audience. It was an honour to be allowed to watch the king eat, a greater honour to be spoken to by the king during the meal, a supreme honour to be invited to serve him his food or to eat with him." In this context, instrumental music played an important role, its magnificence reflecting the regent's powerful self-image. Since new works were continually being demanded, this "table music" practice resulted, over the course of the years, in an impressive body of works. Delalande had a first volume of these works assembled in 1703, containing 160 compositions which are presented as ten suites. The title of the volume uses the term Les Symphonies de M. de La Lande, referring to the entirety of his orchestral works. Further volumes appeared in the following years until after the composer's death; in all, there are around three hundred movements in different sequences. They are mostly short compositions, either taking after traditional dance models or presented as character pieces. These collections of Delalande's works survive as partitions réduites, i.e. in incomplete versions. Most pieces are only noted with two parts, the upper part ("dessus") and bass; in the trios, a second upper part ("deuxieme dessus") is added; very rarely does one find four-part pieces ("quatuors"). However, it may be assumed that most of this repertoire would have been played by five-part ensembles, according to the ideal of French orchestral writing at the time. Jörg Jacob has been involved with the Elbipolis Barockorchester Hamburg from its beginnings, both as performer and programme researcher. For this recording of the Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy by Michel-Richard Delalande, Jacobi has produced a complete reconstruction of the featured works. On this new release, the Hamburg ensemble perform these astonishing pieces for the first time in their originally intended five-part textures.
Michel-Richard Delalande (1657-1726) działał jako kompozytor i organista na francuskim dworze króla Ludwika XIV. Wraz z nim działali w tym czasie w Paryżu także Jean-Baptiste Lully i François Couperin. Był to zatem czas ogromnego rozkwitu francuskiej barokowej muzyki. Delalande, którego obecnie twórczość jest rzadko wspominana i wykonywana, specjalizował się w tytułowych Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy, które były pisane specjalnie dla króla. Komponował także muzykę do baletów oraz motety. Pełnił funkcję dyrektora muzyki w kaplicy królewskiej. Z przyjemnością słucha się tych utworów - interesujących pod względem muzycznego charakteru i różnorodności wykorzystanych instrumentów oraz głęboko nacechowanych elementami tanecznymi. Wyjątkowo wdzięczna muzyka w interpretacji wymownej, podkreślającej jej walory. Alina Mądry - Audio Video 05-2015