I do not care to talk to you although
Your speech evokes a thousand sympathies,
And all my being's silent harmonies
Wake trembling into music. When you go
It is as if some sudden, dreadful blow
Had severed all the strings with savage ease.
No, do not talk; but let us rather seize
This intimate gift of silence which we know.
Others may guess your thoughts from what you say,
As storms are guessed from clouds where darkness broods.
To me the very essence of the day
Reveals its inner purpose and its moods;
As poplars feel the rain and then straightway
Reverse their leaves and shimmer through the woods.
Composer information below
Jean-Marie Leclair (1697-1764)
Concerto for violin, strings and basso continuo Op.7 No.2 in D major:
Adagio (3:37)
Monica Huggett, baroque violin
Claire Guimond, baroque flute
The Life of Jean-Marie Leclair
(information compiled by raindog from the liner notes)
"The emotional intensity that suffuses his work brings to mind Bach's
infinite melody"
- Edmond Appia, "De Palestrina à Bartok", 1965.
Bach wrote such large volumes of ingenius music, that many other talented
composers of that time have been overlooked. One such composer,
Jean-Marie Leclair, is being newly appreciated in modern times because of
the sophistication of his musical language, the lushness of his harmonies
and the richness of his orchestral writing. He is currently considered one
of the dominant figures of eighteenth century French music.
The son of a skilled haberdasher and amateur musician, Leclair was born in
Lyon on May 10, 1697, one of many siblings, five of whom were
also to become musicians. He was often called "the elder" to distinguish him
from a younger brother also known as Jean-Marie who enjoyed a musical career
in their native city.
Nothing is known of his early masterpieces, though we do know that for over
a decade Leclair travelled extensively while performing both as a dancer and
a violinist.
Leclair came to Paris in the fall of 1723. There he published his 'First
Book of Sonatas for Violin with Basso Continuo'. The following year he
returned
to Turin where he took a position as "premier danseur" at the Teatro Regio.
It was there that he studied violin technique under Giovanni Battista Somis,
a student of Corelli, and thus launched his career as a violinist. It
occurred to him that the violin would probably carry him further in life
than would dancing.
Leclair soon returned to Paris where he would publish his 'Second Book of
Sonatas for Violin and/or Traverse Flute' in 1728.
Keep in mind that in France the violin fell well short of the prominence it
enjoyed in the hands of the great Italian composers and virtuosi.
Violin technique had only recently begun to develop - so Leclair's first
two books especially stood out both for their originality and their
difficulty of execution, as the musical public was quick to recognize.
On publication in 1734 of the 'Third Book of Sonatas for Violin', dedicated
to the King, Séré de Rieux was to write: "Leclair is the first composer who,
imitating nothing, has created something fine and new, something that is
distinctively his own."
Leclair pursued a virtuoso career both at home and abroad. From 1728 on, he
had become a regular performer at the "Concert Spirituel",
France's first public concert venue, where the precision and the refinement
of his playing won him an enthusiastic following.
On October 22, 1764 LeClaire was stabbed to death under mysterious
circumstances. and the murderer was never found.
Leclair's death had a powerful impact; a commentator was to write that the
murderer or murderers were "monsters who belonged neither to their country
nor to the century."
Leclair published only instrumental music: thirteen opuses of sonatas and
violin concerti, as well as duo and trio sonatas. His output, relatively
modest for the day, and the high technical and
musical level of his writing won him acclaim as the "Corelly de la France."
"His violin concerti, and his flute concerto, with all their spirituality,
their liveliness and their touches of genius prove to us, with the richness
and the well-turned phrasing that are his alone, that he possesses knowledge
of both solo instruments and of the symphonic science. We are tempted to
call him, for the technical power of his skills, the French Bach."
~ Georges de Saint-Foix
"Ralph Poole" <poole...@xtra.co.nz> escribió en el mensaje
news:ulAVCNSYAHA.328@cppssbbsa05...
Martin
P.S. I was also amused by you Testing Individual Taste web site! I ended up
as either "Butch" or a "Hi Femme Queen in a Lesbian Jungle" LOL
"raindog" <rain...@home.com> wrote in message
Oh then I see Queen Mab hath been with you,
She is the fairies mid(w)ife and
comes in shape no bigger than an agate stone
on the forefinger of an Alderman................etc
LOL,from my stagework days of long ago !!
It is the loss of the pronunciation of the time which puts off so many
scholars,fortunately I had a very good and patient teacher,God rest her
Soul.
Ralph
"Pola" <ps...@racclub.net> wrote in message
news:ON6smMT...@cppssbbsa02.microsoft.com...
So as you see Pola, you identified the dichotomy perfectly! The poet was
indeed
creating an impressionist poem, even while retaining the sonnet format.
Amazing!
Thanks,
Shel <raindog>
"Pola" <ps...@racclub.net> wrote in message
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"Ralph Poole" <poole...@xtra.co.nz> escribió en el mensaje
news:#ExIkaVY...@cppssbbsa02.microsoft.com...
Sally
"Pola" <ps...@racclub.net> wrote in message
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