Jean-Marie Leclair: sonata n° 4 & 5 for 2 violins
Born in Lyon in 1697, he died in 1764 in Paris, assassinated on the street, in front of his house.
He started as dancer, than Ballet-master in Rouen, where he already played the violin like it was the custom to support the dancers rehearsing.
He went then to Italy and perfected his playing with Somis, and then started a new life as touring violinist and composer.
Those sonatas are dating from around 1723, and inspite of a very definite Italian influence, they keep very much with the French tradition for clarity and elegance,
particularly for the slow movements. In those days that was called « les goûts réunis », that is: the « united tastes » (please dont invert 't" and "s" I don't mean United states !), meaning French taste and Italian taste (just as opposed in those days than French cooking and English coocking today)
In those sonatas, the two violin are perfectly equal, and, not like others from the same period, can't be played with any other instruments but violins.
This is a live recording, from a concert (same as Montéclair suite à 2 vlns, on Vuze too), given with the goal of showing the evolution of composing and playing through the whole 18th century, starting with Michel Corette and Montéclair, then Leclair, then Pleyel (vln & vla), to arrive at Mozart (vln & viola).
Barock violins : Marie-Luce Gillet / Jean-Claude Féret
For more music and discoveries :
www.jeanclaudeferet.net
But, unfortunately for the moment, the texts are still only in French (but music goes over that border isn't it !).