Corrette, Les delices de la solitude, Opera Prima Ensemble (Brilliant Classics)Michel Corrette (1707-1795) thus reached maturity when Bach and Handel were at the height of their powers but died after Mozart. Not a name that I had come across before and possibly not a giant of the baroque period in France, he made a career for himself in Paris under Louis XV, perhaps not universally admired even then. This is not innovative, demanding or individual music but music doesn't have to be those things, it just secures a more significant place in history if it is.
These chamber pieces are for cello and viola da gamba, as one instrument apparently hands over to its successor, with harpsichord continuo ringing along behind them and bassoon making jaunty contributions in some sonatas and organ, less coherently in others.
Because it is the rich texture of the sound that convinces me that this is a disc I'll return to more than most. Like the Wagenseil music for low strings, it has a decorum and sanity that is welcome, civilised and redolent of well-being. Largely free of anxiety, sturm or drang, it is nice work if you can get it. The organ, for me, doesn't quite meld with the rest of the integrated sound but it is not overly intrusive. Although one can't hear any more instruments than there are, like the Buxtehude Trio Sonatas in places, it can give the impression of a larger ensemble for all the activity going on.
I'm not sure that it gives any impression of the delights of solitude because it sounds like eminently social music, not something to be brooded upon or contemplated in private but an elegant and companionable accompaniment to other pleasantries.
It's a welcome addition to the disproportionate amount of space on my shelves taken up by baroque and cello/viol music and Michel Corrette is a fine addition to my list of little known composers.
