Photo: Aino Jalkanen
Photo: Aino Jalkanen
Tue 31.08.2021 1.00 pm Berghyddan, Helsinki
Music at the Manors

The dancing Sun King

Music from the parlours of Louis XIV

Lully – d'Anglebert – Hotteterre – F. Couperin

FiBO Players:
  Pauliina Fred, traverso
  Anne Rautiola, violin
  Kaisa Ruotsalainen, violin and viola
  Louna Hosia, viola da gamba
  Jani Sunnarborg, bassoon and baroque dance
  Anna-Maaria Oramo, harpsichord

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The recordings are available March 11 at 6 pm – March 13 at 12 am on FiBO's YouTube channel.
Recording 1
Recording 2

ATTENTION! The concert begins at 1 pm.

King Louis XIV is known for not only his iconic administrative style, but also his red shoes and for being a generous financial supporter of art. The music heard in the parlours of Versailles was a picture of Louis, no lack of wealthiness, details and grandiosity. The king, who was a big consumer of art, gathered the best artists, musicians and actors in the country around himself, simultaneously guaranteeing their productivity and living standard. All the composers of the concert were court musicians of the Sun King and had the most wanted positions during that time.

Jaques Martin Hotteterre was a flutist himself, so the flute is very well represented in his production. The soft and nuanced sound of the traverso reaches its full glory in Hotteterre’s trio sonata (1712).

The harpsichordist François Couperin ”le Grande” (the Great) had grown in the court musician circles already in his teens since several of his relatives and teachers had served the court. Les Nations (1726), which consists of four series for a chamber group, is some sort of a manifesto of its time. The differences between nationalities and styles fascinated both composers and listeners, and different tastes were mixed. Couperin was a master of this mixing and speaks to listeners of our time as well.

The Italian-born Jean-Baptiste Lully renewed the French music life while working for the Sun King. Lully brought the Italians format to France and combined his music with dance. The king was also a fantastic dancer, and people without knowledge in how to dance weren’t welcomed to the court. During the concert, parts from Lully’s great comedies ballet pieces are performed, and Jani Sunnarborg provides the correct dancing. Some of the pieces are performed with the rich arrangements by the court harpsichordist Jean Henri d’Anglebert (1691).

Duration: 1 h (no intermission)

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