Dangerous Liaisons - Dance and Music - OAE Lully Rameau

Dangerous Liaisions with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.   Joined by  Les Corps Éloquents (Hubert Hazebrouq, choreographer, Irène Feste and Romain Arreghini, the OAE surpoassed even their own high standards, demonstating the link between music and dance in the French baroque. More than 40 extracts, primarily from Lully and Rameau, were chosen to form a highly original compilation, unfolding in thematic sequence : Idyllic Delight, Seduction, a Ballet des Fleurs, Vexation, Loss and Despair, Frolics and Mischief, with Reconciliation, the happy ending.   It's quite an achievement to put together more than 40 disparate extracts so they flow together naturally, yet with much variety. Like Le Concert Royal de la Nuit, (more here) this cohered well, an excellent summary of style and content.   Much admiration is due to  the OAE's Principal Flute Lisa Beznosiuk, who curated this with the support of an OAE team and Hubert Hazebroucq, who choreographed the dancing in period style.  This was also an exercise in French declamatory song style, with period (not modern) pronunciation, so credit is due, too, to soloists Anna Dennis and Nick Pritchard.  Conducted by John Butt, the OAE were in vivacious form : a delightful two and a half hours which passed all too quickly.

Like a prologue to a drama, the OAE began with Lully's Overture from Le Triomphe de L'Amour , followed by six miniatures, four from Lully's Thésée (1675)   "Aimons tout nous y convie, on aime ici sans danger".  Notice the archaic language, which did mater, since it complemented the stylized, idealized sentiments in the text, and in this context reminded us that the world of the baroque needs to be understood on its own terms. Thus the dancing, very different to what we take for granted today.  Like the art of fencing, dance prepared young noblemen with skills much needed in Court cicrles : physical fitness, mental discipline, alertness to strategy and form and an awareness of elegant presentation.  Thus the stances - hands and feet held at angles, foot positions which would have developed formidable muscles, enabling the dancer to control his position until he was ready to execute swift, decisive changes.  The formal patterns of dance also reflected concepts of social and cosmic order, the individual functioning as part of an emsemble.

Hazebroucq's choreography is based on extensive archival research but also on the relationship between dance and music, so fundamental to the baroque aesthetic.  Lully didn't conduct with a staff for nothing : he was (literally) beating time, creating a percussive foundation for music that was made to be moved to.  Hence the vigorous rhythms and exuberance, at times reminiscent of military marches and fanfares. Period instruments pack an earthy punch, horns and percusssion evoking  instruments  from even more archaic times, complementing the baroque fascination with classical antiquity.  The stringed instruments, plucked or bowed, added variety and character, sometimes providing continuo, or embarking on flights of inventiveness.  Seeing the dancers move in close relation to the music enhanced understanding of the musical logic. 
Thoughtfully, this Liaisons Dangereuses (like the novel that is told in letters, not narrative), interleaved an extract from Lully's Les Noces de Village (1663),between the pieces from Lully's Thésée. Philinte and Climene are idealized shepherd and shepherdess, more personable than  the more stylised, abstract evocations of love in Thésée. This also served to show that court dance, even when inspired by pastoral fantasy, was not folk dance but far more sophisticated.  The second section, "Seduction",  combined extracts from André Campra's L'Europe Galante (1697) and Lully's Le Bourgeois Genthilhomme (1670),, the vaguely "Spanish" allusions adding exotic spice, to the dancing as much as to the music.   In the Interlude, a "Ballet des Fleurs" , the dancers enacted an allegory in which three figures interact as lovers and rivals, eventually finding reconciliation. This is an allegory in music, too, combining Gavottes and Airs sourced from Rameau's Les Indes Galantes and Lully's Atys (1676), allowing the dancers ample room for elegant, intricate pattterns of movement.  The section "Vexation" was based on Lully's Armide (1686), where the sorceress Armide tries to seduce Renaud.   Anna Dennis was particularly impressive in this splendid role with Nick Pritchard her foil,  dancers in black, the orchestra conjuring up a storm..

The section "Loss and Despair" began with the Prelude from Charpentier's Orphée descendant aux enfers (1684) setting the scene.  An extract from Lully's Ballet royal de la Naissance de Venus (1665)  prepared the way for Orpheus "Tu ne la pendras point, hélas, pour me le rendre"  and Proserpine's "Courage Orphée, étale ici les plus grands charmes", also from Charpentier's La descent d'Orphee aux Enfers depict the Underworld. But love itself does not die. Venus (Anna Dennis) sang "Amiable Vainqueur" from Campra's Hésione (1700), neatly connecting the Orpheus legend with a tragédie en musique  wth characters from other parts of classicl mythology.  "Love that is strong enough can "Désarmer le Dieu de la Guerre: le Dieu de la Tonnere" evoked by the wind machines, crashes of percussion and baleful brass in the orchestra.   After the tumult, fantasy and fun.  From Rameau's Platée (1745) a satire, and a parody from Jean-Joseph Mouret's Les Amours de Ragonde (1714) . In the former, the gods squabble, causing invertebrates and mortals to fall in unrequited love. In the latter, couples end up mismatched. Colin, who ends up wed to his would be mother in law sings mock peasant dialect "Je ne songeons qu'uà bien aimer, je rougirions d'être volage".  Warped humour, the opposite of idealized courtly love, but an opportunity to see the dancers imitate folksy jigs and "exotic" dances.  But all is resolved in the final tableau, Reconciliation.  Eglé and Mercury  sort out their differences in a dialogue from Rameau's Les Fêtes d'Hébé (1739) and Calatée, Mercure, Zoroaster and Amelite sort out theirs in Rameau's Zoroastre (1739).
Please also see

Rameau  Zaïs HERE. (Anna Dennis, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Rameau Pygmalion and Anacreon danced HERE (OAE, danced by Les Paisirs des Nations),
Rousseau Le Devin de Village HERE (Hubert Hazebrouque, choreographer)
and much else

The Grand Siècle, London Festival of the Baroque 2018

The Treasures of the Grand Siècle come to the London Baroque Festival in May. Curated by Guest Director Sébastien Daucé, this promises to be one of the most exciting events in town this summer. Anyone aware of Daucé's Le Concert Royal de la Nuit with Ensemble Correspondances (Harmonia Mundi) will know what to expect. Le Concert Royal de la Nuit was Louis XIV's  revolutionary manifesto, announcing the dawn of an exuberant new age. It was performed only once, on 23rd February 1653, in the palace of Petit-Bourbon in Paris : an extravaganza where the star was its subject : Louis XIV, the King of France.  It ran for 13 hours solid,  from darkness to dawn, dawn being, of course the return of the sun. Thus Louis revealed himself as the Sun King, his countenance bringing light to the nation.  He appeared, in the costume pictured right,  dressed as the sun, the centre of the solar system, the bringer of light and growth. The Sun King was taking command, not only of the Court but also of France, then the most advanced and sophisticated nation in Europe.

The influence of Le Concert Royal de la Nuit can hardly be overestimated : it marks the beginning of "modern" music, opera and ballet.  It is also a metaphor for the baroque spirit, which lives on in French style. Its audacity lies in its extravagant imagination, elegance restraining excess, technical achievement balanced by refinement, agility and energy.  And intelligence - the spectacle was designed by and for minds who understood the value of the mind as a source of civilization.   It evolves in four parts, comprising numerous scena and interludes, depicting the known and unknown world. Gods and Symbolic Deities mix with mortals and (glorified)  peasants, representing the multitudes whom Louis would rule over, in fact as well as in allegory.  Musicians, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers : the plethora of styles and skills reflected the diversity of the Empire and the scale of Louis's ambition, the abundance of human experience elegantly ordered into artistic form. No way could the original be matched today. But Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances have produced Le Concert Royal in a semi-staged edition., most recently in Caen last year. What they'll be able to do at St John’s Smith Square, I don't know, but it will certainly be an experience.  We'll have to use our imaginations, as Louis XIV did so long ago.  Before the performance on Saturday 19th May, Daucé will discuss the reconstruction of the 1653 spectacle, which exists in manuscripts and documents of the period.
The Spirit of the Baroque encompasses the whole world. Not for nothing it followed on from the Age of Discoveries, when Europeans encountered cultures very different from their own. Consider Les Indes Galantes and Jean Jacques Rousseau, implanting ideas of change and the innate dignity of mankind. At a stretch, the values that led to 1789 and to Napoléan ! The Festival, begins with Le Poème Harmonique on Friday 11th May and an anthology  exploring the influence of exoticism , featuring Le Ballet des Nations from Lully's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme  and works by Cavalli and Mouliniè.  Le Poème Harmonique (director Vincent Dumestre) excel in this genre : a concert not to be missed.  Then, on to Versailles with Fuoco E Cenere and "Paris-Madras"  with Le Concert de L'Hostel-Dieu where the music of Couperin is interleaved with an ancient Râga d'Inde Alaap, Jor et Jhala played on Indian instruments.

La Nuova Musica (Director David Bates) present Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice with soloists Iestyn Davies, Sophie Bevan and Rebecca Bottone on Sunday May 13th,  and on Tuesday 15th May, at Westminster Abbey, no less, James O'Donnell leads St James Baroque and the Choir of Westminster Abbey in Te Deums by Henry Purcell and Marc-Antoine Charpentier.  Normally these would be  highlights of the London Baroque Festival, though this year they face stiff competition.  At St George's, Hanover Square, hommages to Lully and Couperin.

Another major highlight, Charpentier Histoires Sacrées with Ensemble Correspondances and Sébastien Daucé, staged by Vincent Huguet.  This telling of the stories of three women in the Bible (Judith, Cecilia and Mary Magdalene)  represents the "Sacred theatre" tradition developed by the Jesuits, defying the prohibition on combining religion and theatre.  Yet again, the connection between art and intellect. This piece was first heard in Louis XIV's private chapel - no-one would have dared censure the King.  

Claude Le Jeune Le Printemps with Doulce Mémoire (Director Denis Raisin Dare)  on Friday 18th May at St John's Smith Square. Olivier Messiaen  taught the importance of this work as a foundation of French style, since it bridges early music and the baroque.  A wonderful opportunity to hear the whole work, performed by great specialists in the field.  Lots of other late evening and afternoon concerts and an all-day workshop on the art of building harmonic flutes !

The Sun King Dances - Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit

Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit, performed at Caen last month, broadcast on France Musique HERE, with Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances who recreated the spectacle for modern audiences,  preserved in their recording for Harmonia Mundi in 2015. The original was performed only once, on 23rd February 1653, in the palace of Petit-Bourbon in Paris : an extravaganza where the star was its subject : Louis XIV, the King of France. No way could the original be matched today.  It ran for 13 hours solid,  from darkness to dawn, dawn being, of course the return of the sun. Thus Louis revealed himself as the Sun King, his countenance bringing light to the nation.  He appeared, in the costume pictured right,  dressed as the sun, the centre of the solar system, the bringer of light and growth.   An audacious statement, so dazzling that the court was stunned into submission.  And he was only 14 years old.  Though Louis wasn't formally crowned until the following year, Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit marked the beginning of his reign of glory.

Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit also marks the beginning of modern music, opera and ballet.  It comprised music from several composers, (Jean de Cambefort, Antoine Boësset, Louis Constantin, Michel Lambert — Lully's father-in-law, Francesco Cavalli, Luigi Rossi),  secular as well as religious. It evolves in four parts, comprising numerous scena and interludes, depicting the known and unknown world. Gods and Symbolic Dieties mix with mortals and (glorified)  peasants, represented the multitudes whom Louis would rule over, in fact as well as in allegory.  Musicians, singers, dancers, acrobats, jugglers : the plethora of styles and skills reflected the diversity of the Empire and the scale of Louis's ambition, the abundance of human experience elegantly ordered into artistic form.  Later, Louis's minions would create the gardens of Versailles,  "civilizing" nature in formal parterres, preserving the forests beyond, for hunting.  In the Grand Ballet with which the spectacle ends, Louis danced - not folk dance by any means, but a form of pageant derived from courtly disciplines like gymnastics. Fencing was aristocrat physical fitness, but also good training for minds that had to keep alert and wary,  keeping counsel but acting swiftly and decisively when need. arose.  Medieval jousting, adapted for more sophisticated intrigue.  Dance was a principal foundation of French Opéra, but also influenced the development of French music in a wider sense,where  the virtues of clarity, lucidity and intelligence prevail. Passion is no less intense in a cultivated mind, it's just more focused.

Le Ballet Royal de la Nuit is a metaphor for French style.  Its audacity lies in its extravagant imagination, elegance restraining excess, technical achievement balanced by refinement, agility and energy.  When Sébastien Daucé and Ensemble Correspondances made their recording for Harmonia Mundi, the release was audio only, though the performance was partly staged.  Yet this first great Gesammstkunstwerk was meant to be seen as well as to be heard.  Perhaps one day, who knows? Til then, there are clips and stills to stimulate the mind.  Read more about the original HERE and enjoy the videos in THIS LINK.

La Nuit de Louis XIV William Christie Versailles

"Pour célébrer le tricentenaire de la mort de Louis XIV, l'orchestre des Arts Florissants, dirigé par William Christie, fait résonner les plus beaux airs de Lully, Charpentier, Delalande, Couperin, Desmaret et de Visée au cœur du château de Versailles, où ils ont été joués pour le plaisir du roi des arts. Bercée par la voix de Denis Podalydès et rythmée par les pas de danse de Nicolas Paul, de l'Opéra de Paris, cette promenade nocturne nous entraîne dans trois espaces emblématiques : l'Atys de Lully enchante l'Opéra royal du château, les Te deum retentissent dans la Chapelle royale, et la musique de cour fait virevolter la galerie des Glaces."

It's not often that we can hear a concert in the heart of the Palace of Versailles. In June, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants marked the 300th anniversary of the death of Louis XIV with a presentaion so unique it should not be missed. Enjoy it here on arte.tv for a limited period. The camera pans over Versailles at dusk. The palace is huge, a spectacular statement of the Sun King's glory. Yet we hear a single owl, calling from the forests around it. An important detail - think about it. Next. we're in the performance space where Louis XIV would have enjoyed his entertainments. It's lovely, but immediately the film pans to the empty stage.

An actor, Denis Podalydès,  expounds. "La musique nouurit...." every aspect of life. Do not fast forward, since this introduction encapsulates the spirit of French style - intellect, logic, intense passion without maudlin sentimentality, flamboyance energized with rigour.  I don't know the sources of the texts, but Podalydès delivers with passionate commitment.  Each instrument is introduced in turn, like a personage, for if music is divine, its messengers are heroes. Notice, too, the dancer. He moves as if the very sculptures and paintings around him were coming alive. Then you realize how Podalydès's style derives from centuries of theatrical tradition, to Molière and before. And how the spoken voice "sings",  with dramatic cadences and stylized gestures.. Music unites instruments, singers, dancers, dramatists, composers and listeners in rich continuum.

Versailles was Louis XIV's "music as architecture". Jean-Baptiste Lully was his ideal composer, and Lully's Atys (1676) his favourite opera. Atys is a seminal work in music history, and a speciality of William Christie and Les Arts Flo. Christie is looking older these days, but this added to the sense of occasion. With his halo of white hair and wise expression, Christie seems an embodiment of the Age of the Enlightenment, beaming affectionately at his musicians, most of whom he's worked with since they were very young.  He conducts with vigour, inspired by his love of the art to which he's dedicated his whole life. These extracts from Atys were produced with elegance and deep feeling. Again, seamless integration of orchestra, singers and dancers.  The impact came from the sheer excellence of performance, infinitely closer to the ideals of the genre than gimmicky period costumesfor those who can't use their imaginations.

If anything, the second part of the concert is even more profound. Again, we hear the lone owl calling as the night draws in on Versailles. this time the performance takes place in the Chapelle Royale, for we are commemorating the death of Louis XIV. Podalydès recites extracts from the Sermon sur la mort et la brièveté de la vie (1662). Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the author, was the leading theologian of his time, and a great orator, so this performance also made the connection between religion and theatre. Orators are showmen, working on the emotions of their audience. This also connects the role of religion as part of the power structure. "Politics as theatre" could describe Louis XIV's monarchy , where spectacle glittered over ruthless absolutism.  Bossuet was also Louis XIV's personal chaplain. Louis went for the ultimate in  all things. King and Bishop would have attended Mass in this very chapel. No doubt Bossuet heard  Louis XIV's confessions. Like the call of the owl, this, too, is an important detail. The King ruled in all his glory, but the moment he died, he was mortal, like all men.  This we see, way up above the gilded sculptures and marble columns,  a dancer writhes like a soul in Purgatory.

 Drumstrokes introduce extracts from Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Te Deum. Watch carefully at how Christie throws himself bodily into his conducting. Again, this isn't for show. He's in symbiosis with his singers and players, bringing out together the full force of the music. In the angelic Lully Regina Caeli , he sings the Alleluias. silently, at one with the trio and their intricate interactions. The camera pans to the chapel's painted ceiling with its images of heaven. A trio from Henri Desmarest Usquequo Domine  follows and then 5the choral finale from Lalande Te Deum laudamaus, another Les Arts Flo speciality.

The concert now moves to the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles' crowning glory. Ordinary tourists may not  get to see the chandeliers lit up like this, their light refracted in multitude, illuminating the entire room. Podalydès is seen, walking silently in awe. Echoes of his "La musique nouurit....." speech resonate.  Now, at last we see the audience. They're wearing ordinary street clothes. Polyadès smiles and welcomes them in though they don't seem to notice because Les Arts Flo are playing again. Podalydès then addresses the throng : perhaps he's Louis XIV proud of what he's achieved throwing his arms open, too, to the world outside, still visible though dusk encroaches.

Podalydès leads Eloide Fonnard by the hand as she sings Charpentier Les plaisirs de Versailles,, as the King might have led a muse in one of the mythical enactments he enjoyed so much.  More Charpentier, more Lalande and music written for Versailles. Now the singers walk through the crowd,  smiling and occasionally striking dance poses, followed by the theorbo player.and then the whole chorus. Again, this is more than detail, but central to meaning.

Christie and Les Arts Flo concluded with some of  Charpentier's incidental music for Molière's Le malade imaginaire, shocking "new" work that departed from Lully's stranglehold on  French music., paving the way for Rameau and masters to come. "LOUIS ! LOUIS ! and "Mille fois, mille fois", the singers sing. Is Charpentier picking up a theme from Lully's Atys ?  Just as the candles and mirrors of the Galerie des Glaces reflect light, the musical achievements of the reign of Louis XIV are reflected endlessly so long as there are those who listen, care and create anew. Suddenly, the Hall of Mirrors is eclipsed by  a spectacular fireworks display on the terraces, such as Louis XIV adored. Christie waves his arms in a flourish. He looks exhausted, but deliriously happy, and so he should be. For this was truly the "Night of Louis XIV".

Also enjoy this docu about Louis XIV and baroque dance