Search - Jean-Marie Leclair, Patrick Cohen-Akenine, Les Folies Francoises :: Leclair: Le Tombeau /Les Folies Francoises * Cohen-Akenine

A Leclair Sampler

M. De Sapio | Alexandria, VA | 08/31/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jean-Marie Leclair's (1697-1764) many sonatas and concertos constitute an important contribution to late baroque violin music. Leclair's accomplishment was to give a distinctive Gallic accent to the sonata models of Corelli. He is also noted for his harmonic daring, including free use of sevenths, ninths, and double suspensions, as well as unconventional modulations and a frequent mixing of major and minor modes. Above all, Leclair understood fully the technical and expressive possibilities of the violin, and exploited them with sensitivity. Don't expect fluffy rococo stylings or empty exhibitionism here; these are weighty late-baroque compositions in which formal structure, lyricism and virtuosity are well balanced.



Leclair's sonatas have not been well represented on disc, despite their abundant musical worth and the baroque violin explosion of recent years. The present CD, released in 2005, offers a sort of Leclair sampler: it includes three of Leclair's finest violin sonatas (from his opus 5), a trio sonata, and a lengthy violin concerto. Violinist Patrick Cohen-Akenine's tone is sweet and mellow, and he is affecting in the tender lyricism of the slow movements. The continuo team are true partners in the musical dialogue, the harpsichordist improvising quite elaborate right-hand figuration and the cellist giving alert and pointed support. The "Tombeau" sonata would have gained in weight from more expressive dwelling on the dissonances; there is also a jarringly out of tune chord in the first movement. I did not find the trio sonata interesting enough to merit inclusion and would have preferred another solo sonata to fill out the program (the running time is 67 minutes). But in the larger context of the dearth of Leclair offerings, these are small objections. This disc remains a long-needed introduction to a great baroque violin master.



As it so happens, Leclair is the only important composer to have been murdered (unless you still think Salieri poisoned Mozart). The title of the CD alludes to this fact (a "tombeau" is a piece of music written as a tribute to a person who has passed away), and the imaginative liner notes conduct a sort of detective analysis of the suspects in Leclair's (still unsolved) murder case.

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