español | français Medieval Renaissance Baroque Clasicism Opera  5 STARS All periods MEDIEVAL RENAISSANCE BAROQUE CLASICISM OPERA ** SYMPHONIES PETER ABELARD Hugo Reyne La Simphonie du Marais , Vincent Dumestre, Vincent Dumestre Auvidis E 8637 1997 - 69:16 min. Pierre Gautier (c.1642-1696) must have travelled extensively between Provence, his native region, and Paris. At least, his biography records a continuous to and fro. In the French capital he studied with the great Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, returning to the south to work as an organist, then joining the Parisian circle of actors and musicians that Jean-Baptiste Lully was training. Later he established the first French provincial opera house in Marseilles. Gautier spent some time in a prison in Avignon and died in a boating accident. La Simphonie du Marais and Hugo Reyne recorded some of his instrumental music. We can observe that Pierre Gautier was an interesting composer, although he never reached the heights of Marais or Couperin. La Simphonie du Marais do their utmost to let Gautier's music flourish. Their interpretations are highly imaginative. The attraction of this disc, however, is Vincent Dumestre. Right from the start he shows how good accompaniment can enliven a performance. Dumestre uses his theorbo and guitar as veritable percussion instruments, providing rhythmic impulses by knocking, tapping and rapping the soundboard. And I'd never thought that a conventional playing technique like the arpeggio, provided that it is properly timed, can be such a driving force. Dumestre's playing has one disadvantage: it makes his fellow accompanists sound slightly pale. GUIDO VAN OORSCHOT ABOUT US | CONTRIBUTE   web map - home page - cover Legal warning Copyright 2003, Goldberg. info@goldberg-magazine.com