Leclair: Sonatas for violin and continuo
Leclair’s music has been a favorite of mine for some time; it’s safe to say I am nearly as strong a leclairfan as a biberfan. His music has not been as widely recorded as Biber’s, which is together is can’t compare to the recordings made of Vivaldi, Telemann, and Bach. Which is why a new recording of music by Leclair is always welcome.
My own assessment of Plantier and company’s pedigree is quite high. In this recital Plantier pulls from Leclair’s opus 5 with single samples from op. 2 and op. 9. Adrian Butterfield released a recording a few months after this one focusing on Leclair’s fifth opus, which provides some comparisons.
For those unfamiliar with Leclair, his forte was as a violinist. He lived in a time that had seen Italians as leaders of style with his instrument; he does an admirable job at injecting some Italian features into his music still inline with French taste.
For this review I auditioned the high-resolution version (96kHz) via Qobuz with headphones. Plantier’s violin is pushed hard right in the stereo image and is presented with more detail (closer to us) than the basso continuo team, which as Johann van Veen notes, includes the use of a double bass. Ricercar’s sound is good and the musicians and producers chose a reasonably-sized space to record this chamber music. I liked the added bass weight myself, which never over-dominated the keyboard and cello.
So let’s dive into the first work, the Sonata in G minor, op 2. no. 12. It’s a four movement work, featuring a pair of “arias” in the third slot. The adagio for me is special: it’s a compendium of affective devices, from long notes that beg for crescendo and tonal variation to French baroque figurations that allow the violinist to strut filigree in our faces. Plantier I feel could have made more of those longer notes. The second movement features similar notes which make us feel we need to lean into them before Leclair demands it with double stopping.
For however much I wanted Plantier to give more weight and color to those notes, Butterfield’s interpretation is more disappointing in this respect, in most cases he seems to miss the opportunity for affect altogether. The double stops in the second movement are fully thrown away. Plantier’s tempo choice in the allegro, too, was a superior choice. Butterfield’s recording together isn’t bad, but if one were deciding on a “complete” set versus a single CD with select pieces, I think there’s a compelling reason to choose Plantier; if you’re streaming as I am, we get to enjoy both, but I prefer Plantier’s less delicate touch.
The thematic touch already introduced by Leclair with the syncopated notes continues in the final allegro which I think is perfectly executed. Small amounts of rubato and the dynamic variation is so appealing.
The C major sonata opens oddly with double stopping for the violin part; the mood is pastoral, I am fairly certain Leclair is mimicking the sound of blown pipes or even hurdy-gurdy. The figured turns near the end of the phrases is rife with French style. Their choice to omit here the keyboard is a nice touch.
The Allegro assai allows Leclair to insert an Italian-style theme. The counterpoint between the violin and basso continuo speaks to the Italian flavor as well. Both the basso continuo team and Plantier on violin’s technical ability is on display and both play equally tight the result is music that sparkles in its clean playing.
The Aria andante for me is an interesting notion: it’s a melodic fragment that keeps going on and I feel Leclair is asking the violinist to make something of it in all its repetitive meandering; while this group does infuse dynamic shifts intelligently, I wanted more from the violin.
The ending, marked Tambourin presto, is a cute dance that here makes the inclusion of double bass really make sense. The modal tonality provides an otherworldly nature to the piece. It would have been too much to introduce a tambourine or other percussion here, but I think the group gets that flavor well enough in their execution. Well done!
Finally, in the Sonata in A minor, op. 9 no. 5, the rising chromatic figures I felt weren’t treated with enough weight and affectation. There’s a lot of drama in those notes. Compare Plantier, if you will, to Juliette Roumailhac, who makes strong/weak dichotomy out of the rising figure, perhaps more successfully than Luis Otavio Santos. Neither violinist I think goes as far as they could in leaning into the dissonance, although Santos plays the long game with an eventual climax in the line.
Plantier has no peer, I think, when we take the fast movements into context. This Allegro assai clocks nearly thirty seconds off the rendition by Simon Standage with Nicholas Parle. Standage’s playing is very clean, but Plantier’s meatier timbre and foot on the pedal, if you will, is ultimately more satisfying, especially so when it comes to the sections with bariolage.
Plantier is consistent in the third movement (here not a dance movement, but rather an adagio), with respect to not pressing too much into the notes that lead turning the harmony. Van Veen spoke to him not going too far into what might be described as Italian decadence; while I’d like a little of that, I can also appreciate his consistency.
The final movement returns virtuosity and French flavor with double stopping. That hurdy-gurdy flavor is well executed by Plantier.
All around, this was a rewarding listen. I’d count it as among the best recordings of Leclair violin sonatas, a peer to the recording by Patrick Bismuth, even though both violinists employ different strengths.
I do feel there is untapped emotional potential in these pieces that Leclair provides through rhythmic and harmonic flavor. Which is to say I hope other musicians take up this repertoire too. This recording may never, however, be surpassed for Plantier’s contributions in the fast movements and the special addition of a 16’ register when the double bass is employed. I know I shall listen to this album many times over.
And if you’ve never heard it, check out Mr. Plantier’s recording of the Westhoff from 2004. The first two tracks are purely sublime.
