Barefoot Chamber Concerts (“an enterprise noted for both its quality and informality” – San Francisco Classical Voice) present their Berkeley Festival special event, the complete works for viol and continuo by François Couperin (aka Couperin Le Grand).
The Barefoot House Band, Hallifax & Jeffrey (Peter Hallifax and Julie Jeffrey, viols), are delighted to be joined by guest Yuko Tanaka, harpsichord, for this concert.
François Couperin was known to have written a book of music for bass viol and continuo, but it was thought no copy survived until recently, when an enterprising musicologist noticed that an obscure print in the Paris Royal Library, attributed to “Mr. F.C” on the title page, contained two superb suites of music for viol and continuo, unmistakably in the style of Couperin. No one knows why Couperin chose not to put his whole name on the publication. However, these two suites are clearly some of his very finest chamber music. They are from his later years, and quite challenging for the viol players, although it is true that Couperin, like Bach (another keyboard virtuoso) seldom wrote music that was convenient for string players, preferring instead to follow his musical genius.
The two suites are dramatically unlike each other, and truly represent a high point of the music for viol from the Bourbon court. They will be complemented by other pieces by Couperin, some for just two viols alone, some for harpsichord.
The concert is in the lovely wooden acoustic of the Berkeley Piano Club