The intimate ensemble chosen for this recording includes a viola da gamba, traverso, triple harp, and theorbo, deliberately avoiding the harpsichord to maintain a poetic and ethereal atmosphere.
Interpretation
The recording features both recited and sung versions of the fables, reflecting the historical performance practice of the time which often blended spoken and sung elements.
Composition History
This album features Louis-Nicolas Clérambault's musical adaptations of Jean de La Fontaine's Fables, a little-known version that Clérambault created shortly after La Fontaine's death in the early 18th century.
Compositional Technique
Clérambault's Fables settings use popular melodies of the time, such as opera themes and Christmas carols, with added bass lines, and the original texts were often reworked to fit the music.
Recording & Production
The album was recorded during an artistic residency at the Château de Kerbastic, a 'small Versailles' in Brittany, which provided an ideal setting for immersing in the repertoire's natural themes.
Performer Biography
Marie-Claude Chappuis, the mezzo-soprano on this album, is known for her clear and intelligible singing, adapting her technique from later repertoire to the Baroque style for this project.
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