I discovered a wonderful harpsichord composer: ROYER

[Lance]

It was my job to prepare a French, double-manual harpsichord for a recital on Sunday, September 19, 2023, presented by Dr. Paul Cienniwa, who is now the executive director of the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra. His recital was given in the Casadesus Recital Hall of Binghamton University [SUNY]. This was a joint recital with violinist Noemi Miloradovic.

Among the compositions was the Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) [Joseph Bologne, the "Black Mozart"] Sonata for Clavecin with Accompaniment of Violin, Op. 1a, No. 3; a harpsichord suite by Froberger (1616-1667), two sonatas by D. Scarlatti, "La Vertigo" by Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer (1703-1755), "Rain Dreaming" by Takemitsu; and JS Bach's Violin Sonata #1 in b, BWV 1014 with Harpsichord Obbligato.

"La Vertigo" by Royer knocked me off my seat with its virtuoso writing and most demanding playing, easily and gorgeously accomplished by Dr. Cienniwa. I carefully checked my catalogue searching for Royer - and found nothing. How could I have missed something as extraordinary as this? And yes, there are recordings of the piece.

Mind you, I also had to prepare a concert grand for a performance of Beethoven's "Emperor" Piano Concerto (No. 5) the evening before, performed by Andrew Russo and the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra. How many times do we get to hear that concerto live? So, talk about some great music-making all within a period of less than 20 hours! Shear elation!

[maestrob]

Lance! What a wonderful weekend! And to be so intimately involved must have been a sheer joy!

Last week we attended two events: A concert with the N. Y. Philharmonic conducted by an outstanding Paavo Jarvi with Alena Baeva playing Britten's Violin Concerto in its final (1965) revision. Baeva was discovered by Gergiev, who invited her to record a DVD in his Shostakovich set (Concerto No. 2). The second half was amply filled with a stunning rendition of Prokofiev's Symphony No. 6, a favorite of yours truly, in a stunning performance of this rarely programmed work. I must say that the acoustics of the brand-new David Geffen Hall worked perfectly for us in out second-tier seats!

Our second event was a Sunday matinee at the MET of Daniel Catan's recent opera, Florencia en el Amazonas, starring Ailyn Perez, who gave a stunning performance of the title character that moved be to tears at the end with its beauty. It is indeed a privilege and a great pleasure to live where we live.

Today I am thankful that we can still be active in music, the love of our lives.

[Lance]

Well, speaking of Joseph-Nicholas-Pancrace-Royer, and his wonderful piece I heard live for the first time, La Vertigo, I must tell you I did my research and found some recordings that have arrived giving me great pleasure, AND, introducing me to some other works by Royer. The other piece that raised my brow to the level of La Vertigo is called La Marche des Scythes. Inasmuch as Royer comes the heyday of French Baroque, I have not heard any other French harpsichord music that compares with Royer's in its intensity. La Vertigo was not looked up by listeners at that time as something they expected from the harpsichord. (Perhaps the name La Vertigo is understandably applied.) My thought is that if Royer had continued to write in the style of the two pieces named hereon, he might have been considered the Liszt of his time! Both pieces run on average about six minutes each and are unrelenting. Royer's other pieces, La Remouleuse, Les Tendres Sentiments, Tambourin I & II, Les Mateots, all much shorter have no comparison with La Vertigo or La Marche des Scythes.


So, what have I added recording-wise? Mark Kroll (Newport CD), Mark Hroch (Arco Diva CD), Imbi Tarum (Estonian CD) and I've got a few more coming, those also introducing me to other works of Royer and other composers. My introduction to La Vertigo as I mentioned intitially was rendered by Dr. Paul Cienniwa, who played it in the manner of Kroll and Hroch while the Tarum wasn't quite as vibrant but nonetheless effective.


Thanks for reading this. When I get excited about something, I go overboard!

[maestrob]

Lance, your enthusiasm is infectious and very welcome! I must hear some of Royer's music, and quite soon!

[Lance]

I am now "drowning" in Royer's music. In truth, there isn't that much available though one book of pieces was published during his lifetime, and there's a couple more CDs to come and then I'm done with Royer. I can't tell you how different interpretations make a difference (in any music), but among two or three of Royer's most outstanding pieces (particularly *Le Vertigo and *Marche of the Scythes), most of the recordings bring out the best of those pieces with the exception of one, which was actually okay. To hear the French harpsichord in such virtuosic performances is thrilling. Another was performed on the piano but lacked the impact of the harpsichord. If you're interested, here's a list of recordings I have with Royer's music. *Indicates the two asterisked selections marked above are included on the CDs. Some of these CDs will be hard to find:

•Brilliant 94479* - complete harpsichord music, Yago Mahugo, harpsichord
•Alba (Finand) 113* - selections, Annamari Polho, harpsichord
•Arco Diva 0207* - selections, Martin Hroch, harpsichord
•Calliope 2299* - selections, Alexandra Lescure, piano
•Estonian 1207* - selections, Imbi Tarum, harpsichord
•Newport 60011* - selections, Mark Kroll, harpsichord
•Harmonia Mundi 1951037* - 14 selections, William Christie, harpsichord
•Oiseau-Lyre 436 127* -15 selections, Christophe Rousset, harpsichord


If you go looking, have fun listening and let me know your thoughts.

[CharmNewton]

I have a recital of Gustav Leonhardt which includes three Royer pieces. He sounds a bit like a stylistic throwback to Frescobaldi or Froberger, with a bit of sassy insouciance and humor mixed in. His dates place him contemporary to J.S. Bach's older children.

A reminder of how wildly varied music was at that time. I spend much time in the Baroque era these days and love it.

John

[maestrob]

Here's a suggestion for you two lovers of the Baroque. It's a 2023 release, and wonderfully played and recorded!




From Amazon:

After two recordings devoted to the harpsichord pieces of Savoyard composer Pancrace Royer, Christophe Rousset, this time conducting, turns to the composer's orchestral suites. Taken from Royer's operatic works and (with the exception of a live version of Pyrrhus) never previously recorded, these choreographic pieces reveal a new facet of the composer. The brilliance and virtuosity of his harpsichord compositions are well known; here we discover his gift for refinement and lyricism. These dances show Royer's singular sense of harmony and fine use of orchestral contrasts, as well as an almost whimsical rhetoric of the unexpected. Some of his best-known pieces, including the famous "March of the Scythians" from Zaïde, are to be heard here in their orchestral form. This recording will undoubtedly further the rediscovery of this iconoclastic composer, whose very personal style and innate sense of drama are given striking depth and relief here under the baton of Christophe Rousset.

[CharmNewton]

Here's a suggestion for you two lovers of the Baroque. It's a 2023 release, and wonderfully played and recorded!

Rousset has been a champion of Royer for many years now. I have to take a look at a few of his discs as well as some others. The cover photo is awful, however. He needs some new style advice.

John

[Lance]

Thank you, John. Yes, that new disc is on order. I will be most interested to hear the orchestrations.

I've added a couple of other Royer discs to one of my posts. The problem is that only one book of Royer's clavecin pieces was actually published, as it is marked as Volume One. Apparently, nothing ever happened for subsequent publications. The other problem is that among all these CDs I've acquired (basically for three or four pieces that are favorites), it's all the same repertoire; that, of course, makes it interesting to see what each of the keyboardists do with these fine little French gems. I would love to hear other of his output, too.

I may have one more Royer disc coming, plus the new orchestral version, but I think I will have drawn the line on collecting Pancrace Royer!