Laurence Pottier - Le Romain - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Jacques Hotteterre, called le Romain, is one of the most illustrious figures in the history of the transverse flute. At the same time a distinguished performer, an enlightened teacher and a recognized composer, he brought to the Baroque flute full respectability through his Livres de pièces (Books of Pieces), L'Art de Prélude (The Art of the Prelude) and his Principes de la Flûte (principles of the Flute). There are various confusions relating to Jacques Hotteterre, to whom the invention of the three-section Baroque flute is of !en wrongly attributed, whereas he was only it's popularizer. The Rondeau Les Tourterelles, gracieusement et un peu lent (Rondeau The Turtle-Doves, gracefully and rather slow) is a piece in subdued shades. Hotteterre allows the feeling to open out. The rondeau structure is perfectly mastered and the use of portamento, slurs and harmonic delays gives the composition a languishing character that the title confirms. This piece ought to be played with unequal notes, making the dialogue still more tender. The Gigue, in the Italian style, as always with Hotteterre, brings equality between the two upper parts. Far from writing a second accompanying part, the composer has provided a second treble part of equal importance with the first. This ability demonstrates the composer's musical gifts to be developed in the final passacaglia. This last consists of 153 bars in two tonalities, B minor and B major, and is almost perfect in it's structure. Motifs of four and a half bars are always repeated twice, except in variations 5, 6 and 7. Variation 5 has nine bars, twice repeated; variation 6 has four and a half bars once, not repeated; variation 7 has sixteen bars, not repeated. It is in this kind of piece that the composer's imagination is given expression, since the repetitions can tire the listener if no new musical idea is occasionally introduced. In th