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Photos: Brice Cocset, Jaakko Kulomaa, Ville Kuukka and Jimi Ernola.

Wed 11.06.2025 6.00 pm Old Huopalahti Station, Helsinki

Thu 12.06.2025 6.00 pm The German Church, Helsinki

Fri 13.06.2025 6.00 pm Ylistalo House, Helsinki

French with All the Trimmings

A special lower pitch level

F. Couperin – Marais – de Boismortier – Telemann – Guillemain

FiBO Players:
  Ilkka Eronen, traverso
  Kaisa Ruotsalainen, violin
  Louna Hosia, viola da gamba
  Laura Ollberg-Ekman, harpsichord

François Couperin is especially known as a significant composer of harpsichord music. This concert features his chamber work L’Impériale for two melody instruments and basso continuo from the collection Les Nations. The work consists of two parts: an Italian-style sonata and a suite of traditional French dance movements. In this concert, the piece is divided into two parts to frame the rest of the program.

Adding spice to the concert, you will hear one of the most famous compositions by the French viola da gamba virtuoso Marin Marais: Sonnerie de Sainte Geneviève du Mont-de-Paris, or freely translated, The Bells of Saint Geneviève. The piece is built upon a recurring three-note bass pattern, where the relentless tolling of the bells forms a foundation for the interplay between the violin and the viola da gamba.

Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was a prolific and versatile composer of his time. His Opus 91 sonatas for flute and obbligato harpsichord were written for the renowned flutist Michel Blavet. The concert includes the first movement from the E minor Sonata No. 4. The program also features one of the Paris Quartets by the German composer Georg Philipp Telemann, composed for his visit to Paris in 1737. Louis-Gabriel Guillemain, a violin virtuoso who studied in Italy under Giovanni Battista Somis, is represented with a B minor quartet from his collection Six Sonates en Quatuors ou Conversations Galantes et Amusantes.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, pitch levels varied greatly across Europe, sometimes differing by as much as a minor third between regions. Today, baroque musicians often perform baroque repertoire at a pitch standard about a semitone lower than the modern classical pitch (a₁ = 415 Hz). This compromise was established in the latter half of the 20th century during the renaissance of early music, likely for practical reasons.

In these concerts, Ilkka Eronen performs on two flutes: a French Hotteterre flute, which was highly popular in early 18th-century France, and a German Denner flute. For this reason, the concerts are played at a lower pitch level, with a₁ tuned to 392 Hz, which is a whole tone below the modern standard. This particular pitch level was commonly used in France in the 1700s. As a result, especially the traverso flute acquires a darker and more intimate tone compared to higher pitch levels, adding a special flavor to the program.

Duration: 1 h 15 min (no intermission)

The concert on June 12 is organized in collaboration with the German Church, and the concert on June 13 in cooperation with the Laajasalo-Degerö Society.

Casa Haga in the area of old Huopalahti station and Ylistalo Café are open during the concerts.