With this newly researched recording of Couperin's Les Nations, Les Ombres, a Baroque ensemble of the new European generation, boldly cross borders and barriers to share a vision of spiritual union beyond national divide.
Couperin was the very first composer in France to produce a trio sonata in the style of Corelli, which he composed when he was barely 22-years old. Not daring at first to declare openly his admiration for the Italian genius, he did not sign his own name to 'L’Astrée', written around 1691. It was finally published in 1726, in the collection known as 'Les Nations', where it became the opening ‘sonade’ of La Piémontoise.

Launching Ambronay Editions' 'Jeunes Ensembles' collection, Concert chez la Reine opens a window on the French Enlightenment. Les Ombres, directed by Margaux Blanchard and Sylvain Sartre, contrast masterworks by Couperin le Grand with music from Colin de Blamont, master of the Kings chamber music to Louis XV, realised from manuscripts in the Bibliothèque nationale.

J.S. Bach’s son Johann Christian arrived in London in 1762, and with his fellow composer Carl Friedrich Abel established a series of prestigious concerts that ran for 17 years. Music heard at the Bach-Abel recitals is surveyed on this intriguing album by the Swiss ensemble Les Ombres. The sprightly Quartet in D Major by J.C. Bach, two pensive pieces for bass viol by Abel, and a charmingly Mozartian Harpsichord Quintet by Johann Samuel Schröter are among the highlights, and three of Haydn’s numerous arrangements of Scottish songs are brightly sung by mezzo-soprano Fiona McGown. Les Ombres play on period instruments, imparting an extra tang to this fascinating slice of aural history.

Théotime Langlois de Swarte continues his exploration of the violin repertory of the early eighteenth century. On this program, he highlights the links between three leading composers for the instrument, whose popularity was burgeoning at the time: Vivaldi, father of the violin concerto, and two of his most brilliant younger contemporaries, Locatelli and Leclair. A recording which, beyond the interplay of echoes and personal connections, showcases the extraordinary versatility of an instrument as virtuosic as it is poetic.

André Cardinal Destouches (1672-1749) was educated by the Jesuits and had a career as a Musketeer before resigning to study music with André Campra. His first ‘hit’ was the pastoral Issé in 1697, which was written for the court but immediately taken up by the Opéra in Paris. He rose to prominent positions in both contexts and Sémiramis was first performed in 1718. Influenced by the Italophile Campra, Destouches abandoned the traditional five-part string scoring of Lully and his followers and created a work that was perhaps too serious for its time: only now are we in a position to recognise his work as an important step along the road from the aesthetic of Lully to that of Rameau.

Théotime Langlois de Swarte continues his exploration of the violin repertory of the early eighteenth century. In this programme, he highlights the links between three leading composers for the instrument, whose popularity was burgeoning at the time: Vivaldi, father of the violin concerto, and two of his most brilliant younger contemporaries, Locatelli and Leclair. A disc which, beyond the interplay of echoes and personal connections, showcases the extraordinary versatility of an instrument as virtuosic as it is poetic.

The musicians of Les Ombres pay tribute to Luigi Boccherini. The free and audacious composer was an insatiable traveler and the inventor of the string quartet whose belatedly acknowledged genius has now earned him a major place in the history of music.

The musicians of Les Ombres pay tribute to Luigi Boccherini. The free and audacious composer was an insatiable traveler and the inventor of the string quartet whose belatedly acknowledged genius has now earned him a major place in the history of music.