Jacques Aubert, a French composer, delayed publishing his first collection of violin concertos until the late 1730s, despite having written them earlier, due to the prevailing anti-Italian sentiment.
Historical Context
In 18th-century France, many viewed the Italian solo concerto as antithetical to French music, seeing its dramatic expression and focus on a single soloist as too chaotic and individualistic for French absolutism.
Compositional Technique
Aubert's concertos, influenced by Vivaldi's L'Estro armonico, feature violins deployed in pairs with the first violin as the protagonist, and use the lower registers of violins to fill in for absent violas.
Instruments
A major reason for the initial rejection of the violin concerto in France was the insufficient interest in the violin, as French instrumental music was primarily for amateurs, not professional concert artists.
Historical Context
The concerto, like the sonata and opera buffa, was an Italian import that triggered a century-long debate in France about mixing French and Italian styles.
Recording & Production
This album includes a world premiere recording of a concerto by Jean-Marie Leclair, found in separate sources in Berlin and Stockholm, not from his published collections.
Composition History
Aubert's concertos were notable as the first violin concertos published by a French composer, even though Italian concertos had been published in France earlier.
Geminiani: 12 Concerti Grossi composti sull'opera V d'Arcangelo Corelli
Manfredini: Sinfonie da chiesa
Corelli: Violin Sonatas, Op. 5
Fontana: Complete Sonatas for Violin and B.C.
Georg Philipp Telemann · Antonio Vivaldi: Bassoon Concertos | Michael McCraw. Michael Schneider. Hans-Peter Westermann. Josef Niessen. Claudia Schneider. Capella Clementina. Helmut Müller-Brühl
