ABS “Reunites” French and Italian Tastes

1732 engraving depicting Parnassus inhabited only by French composers (by Titon du Tillet, from Wikimedia Commons, public domain)

The title of the third Festival concert in this summer’s Festival & Academy presented by American Bach Soloists in the Concert Hall of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music was inspired by the final composition on the program. Lasting about half an hour in duration, the composition had a title to rival that time span: Concert instrumental sous le titre d’Apothéose composé à la mémoire immortelle de l’incomparable Monsieur de Lully (instrumental concerto entitled the apotheosis composed in immortal memory of the incomparable Monsieur de Lully). Written by François Couperin, this is basically an episodic suite composed after the death of Jean-Baptiste Lully that follows the protagonist from the Elysian Fields (where he is making music with the spirit of the Underworld) through his encounter with Apollo to his elevation to Parnassus, where he encounters Arcangelo Corelli.

Each movement of the suite has an extended title that outlines this narrative. As might be guessed, the initial encounter between Lully and Corelli is not a warm one. However, Apollo intervenes in a movement with the following title: “Apollon, persuade Lulli, et Corelli, que la réunion des Goûts Français et Italien doit faire la perfection de la Musique” (Apollo persuades Lully and Corelli that the bringing together of French and Italian styles must create musical perfection). There follows a “study” in which first Corelli accompanies a melody by Lully, after which the roles are reversed. This episode in the narrative inspired the title of last night’s concert, Les Goûts Réunis (styles brought together). Over the course of the entire program the music of Couperin and Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was brought together with compositions by Pietro Locatelli and Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani. Couperin’s concluding suite was complemented at the beginning of the evening with a similar programmatic suite depicting Corelli’s own reception by Apollo.

The “bringing together” was realized by the interleaving of French and Italian compositions. However, Couperin dominated the evening with his two extended episodic suites, while Locatelli and Viviani were represented by relatively brief sonatas. Nevertheless, those sonatas presented the technical virtuosity of ABS players Sandra Miller on flute (Locatelli) and John Thiessen on trumpet (Viviani). As a result, the entire program was predominantly French; and any Italian influences would probably be recognized only by specialized musicologists.

Still there was much to enjoy in the performance, particularly in Couperin’s approach to bringing narrative to music. Those familiar with his keyboard music know that he could be a master of what would later come to be known as “program music,” even when representation was confined to a simple binary-form movement. Reading the outlines of the two “apotheosis suites” may have led some to fear that both pieces would be long-winded. However, in both suites the individual movements are brief, each movement making taking only long enough to make its point and advance to its successor.

The result was that entertainment and virtuosity were served in equal measure; and, if the prevailing theme of styles “brought together” did not necessarily register particularly strongly, there was more than enough to engage the attentive listener.