Royal Fanfares at Versailles: Charpentier - Philidor - Lully - Delalande - Francœur

00:00 Prelude du Te Deum (Marc-Antoine Charpentier, 1634-1704)
01:37 Marche a quatre Timbales (André Danican Philidor, 1647-1730)
04:23 Airs de Trompettes, Timbales et Hautbois (Jean-Baptiste Lully, 1632-1687):
Prélude - Menuet - Gigue - Gavotte
10:25 Symphonies pour les Soupers du Roy (Michel-Richard Delalande, 1657-1726):
Caprice No. 1: Fièrement et Détaché, Gracieusement, Un peu plus gai, Vite - Gracieusement sans lenteur, Vif - Trio: Doucement - Fièrement, Vivement

Suite No. 4 from Symphonies du Festin Royal (François Francœur, 1698-1787)
25:37 Ouverture (Jean-Philippe Rameau, 1683-1764; arr. Francœur)
28:17 Menuet Gracieux (Rameau)
30:04 Air Gracieux (Louis Grenier, 1725-1807)
31:03 Entrée de Chasseurs (Antoine Dauvergne, 1713-1797)
32:38 Rondeau I/II (Francœur)
38:02 Rondeau Gai (Francœur)
39:26 Musette (Jean Joseph Cassanea de Mondonville, 1711-1772)
40:27 Joyeaux Rondeau (Mondonville)
41:59 Menuet I (François Rebel, 1701-1775) / Menuet II (Francœur)
44:34 Chaconne (Pancrace Royer, 1705-1755)
52:18 Tambourin (Rameau)

Trumpet: Adolf Scherbaum / 2nd Trumpet: Stanislav Simek / Harpsichord: Olivier Alain
Orchestre de Chambre Paul Kuentz - Paul Kuentz, director

The music of the Royal Court of France from the time of Louis XIV up to the Revolution constitutes a repertory of a special kind that it is difficult for us to recreate today. It is a question of rediscovering a lost tradition, from both the rhythmic and stylistic points of view. There is an alternation or rather a combination of several different elements: the processional solemnity of the ouverture, the open-air and hunting music and countless rhythmic dance patterns such as the minuet, the loure and the grande chaconne, each plainly recognizable and used repeatedly in the court divertissements. The atmosphere is sometimes that of an open air fête in the royal parks; at others that of a reception in the state apartments. Out of doors there are trumpets, horns, drums and fifes; indoors we have strings with or without oboes and bassoons. Hearing the Prelude to the Te Deum of MARC-ANTOINE CHARPENTIER the listener will soon recognize the Eurovision signature tune. The very obvious differences in the rhythmic execution are easy to explain. At the time when this tune was first recorded, the music of the Louis XIV period was only just beginning to emerge from the shadows and the rediscovery of the appropriate style of performance only came about some years later. It was principally the achievement of harpsichordists and organists, for many orchestral conductors are still ignorant of the “French style”, or are afraid of upsetting the public by trying to introduce it.

Charpentier, a French musician who had studied in Rome with Carissimi, found his progress in the operatic field barred by Lully and so it was for the Church that most of his work was composed. In the 28 volumes of his “Meslanges” preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale there are in particular four settings of the Te Deum, and it is for the fourth one (from Volume 15 of the “Meslanges”) that Charpentier, who was in charge of music at the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, composed this Prelude, with trumpet, in D major, which appears in Volume 17.

The Marche à 4 Timbales (March for four drums, two players) of ANDRÉ DANICAN-PHILIDOR was performed in 1685 at the Carrousel of His Royal Highness the Dauphin by two members of the Philidor family, who under the old régime were a veritable musical dynasty. André (the elder) and his brother Jacques (the younger), aged 38 and 28 respectively, played one the bass and the other the tenor drums. They are a set of purely rhythmical variations on a simple and rather “square” opening theme. Syncopations, cross rhythms, echoes and rapid upbeats call for great precision from the players.

André and Jacques were sons of the oboist from the Dauphiné Michel Danican (died 1659) who was nicknamed Philidor by either Louis XIII or Louis XIV after the Italian oboist Filidori. The Grand Dauphin Louis, son of Louis XIV, was at that time 24 years old.

Whilst LULLY’s “Suites de Simphonies et trios” are in the main made up of fragments of operas, the Airs de Trompettes, timbales et hautbois are a good sample of the general repertory of the great music stable at Versailles. We no longer have today, or at least but rarely, the complete families of trumpets and oboes which in these pages of Lully extend over a wide range. To play them now we are obliged to substitute trombones and bass trombones, bassoons and double bassoons. “Composed by Mr de Luly (sic) by order of His Majesty for the Carouzel (sic) of His Royal Highness in 1686”, these pieces make up a suite in C major for 4 trumpets, 4 oboes and drums, that is a wind octet with drums: a martial prelude, a stately minuet without trio, a gigue in the style of a “canarie” and a gavotte in the military style.