Search - Marin Marais, Musica Pacifica, Judith Linsenberg :: Pieces En Trio

More from Musica Pacifica, please!!

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 12/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"French Baroque instrumental music (in this case from the last two decades of the seventeenth century) enjoys a somewhat doubtful reputation as being mannered and all cast in the same mould. Well, there is no smoke without fire, and sure enough, the individual movements on this recording do all sound in some wise ?typical?, with the usual French dance movements (sarabande, gigue, rondeau, menuet, gavotte) predominating. And yet, there are here some outstanding passages: If you want a sample of what Marin Marais was capable of in an area other than that of his belovèd viola da gamba, then listen in to CD 1, Track 8 (Passacaille) or CD 2, Track 6 (Chaconne), where the instruments intertwine and swirl around each other for well over five minutes at a time.



Musica Pacifica, a group of soloists from the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra of San Francisco, have made a really excellent job of this recording. In her performance notes, Judith Linsenberg explains how the ensemble approaches this music: it has been re-arranged into shorter suites and partly extended to more than three instruments or transposed, but all in accord with the customs and practice of the late seventeenth century. And the playing is superb: Ms. Linsenberg herself gives a stunning performance on three different recorders (treble, discant and voice flute), while Elizabeth Blumenstock is absolutely delightful on her Italian copy of a Stradivari. The oboe, viola da gamba, archlute and harpsichord (all also copies of historical instruments) are equally able to impress and create a delightful sound-mix that really does seem to put the listener into the King of France?s ?chambre?!



The recording was made at two locations in California in 1996, and the producer and editor was Stephen Schultz, no stranger to the West Coast early music scene. The sound is pure on both CDs, with CD2 being perhaps slightly clearer. The liner notes are exemplary. What a pity that Virgin has not given us more from Musica Pacifica!

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