Barrière, De Bury: Sonates et suites pour le clavecin
3/1/2017, 50 Tracks, 2:40:03
Featuring
Luca Quintavalle
Jean-Baptiste Barrière
Bernard De Bury
Did you know?
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Composer's Artistic Vision
Barrière's sonatas incorporated Italian elements like unprepared dissonances, circle of fifths progressions, and concerto-style writing, alongside French characteristics such as meter signatures and ornamentations.
Composition History
Barrière's sixth book, featured on this album, was the first published set of sonatas for harpsichord by a French composer.
Historical Context
The French Age of Enlightenment saw entertainment shift from Versailles to Paris, fostering instrumental music and a vogue for virtuosos.
Instruments
The harpsichord used for this recording was made by Andrea Restelli in 2015, modeled after a 1711 instrument by P. Donzelague.
Compositional Technique
Barrière's harpsichord sonatas introduced new elements to French harpsichord repertoire, including the use of F#1 and G#1, Italian dynamic terms, and full chords in the lowest octave.
Composer Biography
Jean-Baptiste Barrière (1707-1747) was the first French composer to write thoroughly idiomatic music for the cello.
Composer Biography
Bernard de Bury (1720-1785) spent his entire life and career in Versailles, holding prestigious positions such as keyboard player to the King's chamber and superintendent of the King's music.
