The Forquerays (dad Antoine and son Jean-Baptiste) were viol players par excellence, with Antoine among the musicians employed by Louis XIV. Jean-Baptiste’s fame rests on the publication of a book of his father’s music for viol and continuo in 1747, which in 1749 he re-worked for solo harpsichord. This five-disc set presents the complete Forqueray, so you get four discs featuring the five main suites and a few bonus pieces. The fifth disc is readings of letters either by or to the Forquerays – an odd choice. But wait, there’s more! The suites aren’t heard in both versions, but instead each one is randomly divvied up – one movement is viol, and the next several are harpsichord, even within the same suite.
It’s also strange that an entire disc consists of pieces dedicated to or inspired by the Forquerays, usually by fellow court composers, with a couple of modern composers included too. It’s a nice idea, but the quality of pieces doesn’t match up; even the liner notes can’t get enthused about music by Rameau’s son. On the other hand, the sonatas by Charles-François Clément are so charming that they should have been saved for a separate release.
Michèle Dévérité’s harpsichord playing is excellent throughout. However, this comes at the expense of viol players Kaori Uemura and Ricardo Rodriguez, who don’t get much of a look-in. Would you believe that they only play on 13 tracks on the complete set? Good performances, let down by some unwise decisions in the marketing department.
Composer: Antoine Forqueray, Jean-Baptiste Forqueray
Composition: Chamber works
Performer: Michèle Devérité, Kaori Uemura and Ricardo Rodriguez,
Catalogue Number: Harmonia Mundi HMM905286 (5CD)
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