It started out almost as a joke when Albert and I were planning to unwind after a day of work with a martini and some music. Albert suggested we listen to an advance recording of the new naïve classique release of conductor and in this case harpsichordist Christophe Rousset playing transcriptions of Rameau’s second opera, Les Indes Galantes.
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Here is one of the tracks from the album, titled “Air Pour Les Guerriers”:
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I sensed the bit of jest in Albert’s question, because perhaps the idea of us two guys listening to harpsichord music to unwind might seem a bit, well, fey. Not that we have anything against fey, of course, but more because we had had a long history of unwinding with drinks to classical music. In fact, the idea of the Ecstatic Living Room was launched, right where we were sitting, in Albert’s living room, many years ago where we would convene regularly to relax and explore music….though typically more muscular stuff. We spent hundreds of hours listening to classical music, but in our 20s and 30s we seemed to gravitate to the music of Shostakovich, Beethoven, Mahler and new music that had, at least for me, supplanted much of the rock music I had been listening to.
Though I did not outright admit it, I was quite intrigued by this new release because I already had a secret favorite of Rameau harpsichord music on my record shelf, a 1977 Archiv Producktion release of Rameau music for harpsichord performed by Kenneth Gilbert, which was re-released on CD in 1989. It is actually one of my all-time favorite weekend morning recordings and one that I often turn to anytime I am looking for a lift.
What may seem most surprising about Rameau’s music played on harpsichord is its propulsiveness and rhythmic invention. When it is not sparkling and beautiful, it absolutely rocks.
So there we were with our martinis looking at each other, thinking just that: this absolutely rocks.
I was just now revisiting this new Rousset recording at loud volume on a beautiful spring morning, enjoying immensely it’s great bursts of prismatic color and danceable tunes. And I wonder, if you just played this music at the right level to a group of people if they would just have to start dancing?
If you are so moved, here are links to buy either or both of the recordings:
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January 9th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Do you remember Lurch from the Addams family? Was that the last time there was a famous harpsichordist on TV? Wonder if he played any Rameau and drank martinis….