JEAN-FÉRY REBEL (1666-1747) LES ELEMENS 1 Le Cahos ...... 6.07 2 Air pour les Violons (La Terre et L’Eau) – Chaconne (Le Feu) ...... 4.28 3 Ramage (L’Air) ...... 1.23 4 Rossignols ...... 1.42 5 Loure ...... 1.40 6 Tambourins ...... 2.04 7 Sicillienne ...... 1.34 8 Caprice ...... 2.28

MARIN MARAIS (1656-1728) SUITE IN A MINOR 9 Prelude, 3rd book pièces de violes, 1711 ...... 3.19 10 Fantaisie, from 2nd book pièces de violes, 1701 ...... 4.13 11 Tombeau de Mr Meliton, from 1st book, pièces a deux violes, 1686 .... 7.03 12 Rondeau moitié pincé et moitié coup d’archet, book 5, 1725 ...... 3.55 13 Chaconne, 1st book, pièces à deux violes, 1686 ...... 6.08

SUITE IN G MAJOR 14 Sarabande grave, 3rd book, pièces de violes, 1711 ...... 3.13 15 Le petit badinage, 5th book, pièces de violes, 1711 ...... 1.42 16 Rondeau le Troilleur, 5th book ...... 3.47 17 FOLIES D’ESPAGNE from 2nd book pièces de violes, 1701 ...... 14.37

Arrangements of Suite in A minor and Folies by S. Heinrich, all other performing editions prepared by The Palladian Ensemble from original source material.

LES ELEMENS : 2 LES ELEMENS : 3 PALLADIAN ENSEMBLE greatest Connoisseurs, is one of the most beautiful symphonic works LES ELEMENS in this genre... a pure symphony without dance or pantomime.’ Rebel’s foreword to the work gives us a glimpse of his thoughts: The thunderous dissonance which opens ‘Les Elemens’ is probably the most shocking and original single bar of music composed up to that time. How much ‘The introduction to this work is Chaos itself; that confusion which more extraordinary to reflect that it was written by a 71 year old pensioner reigned among the Elements before the moment when, subject to whose music had been previously praised for its ‘Wisdom, Taste and Tenderness’ immutable laws, they assumed their prescribed places within the and its avoidance of the ‘Frightening and Monstrous’! natural order. This initial idea led me somewhat further. I have dared to link the idea of the confusion of the Elements with that Jean-Féry Rebel (1666-1747) enjoyed a long and productive career as one of of confusion in Harmony. I have risked opening with all the notes Louis XIV favoured musicians. He was presented at court at the age of 8 by sounding together, or rather, all the notes in an octave played as his father, a royal musician, where he reportedly astonished the King with his a single sound. To designate, in this confusion, each particular virtuosity on the violin. He was encouraged by Lully and rose through the element, I have availed myself of some widely accepted conventions. ranks to eventually direct the 24 Violons du Roy. When he stepped down from The bass expresses Earth by tied notes which are played jerkily. conducting the Concert Spirituel in 1735 he had a long series of successful The flutes, with their rising and falling line, imitate the flow and instrumental works and ballet scores to look back on (although his one Opera; murmur of Water. Air is depicted by pauses followed by cadenzas Ulysse, was a failure). However, he was soon tempted out of retirement by Prince on the small flutes, and finally the violins, with their liveliness and Carignan to write the score that has become his most famous: ‘Les Elemens’. brilliance represent the activity of Fire. These characteristics may The work was premiered in 1737 without the opening movement Le Cahos. The be recognized, separate or intermingled, in whole or in part, in the “Mercure de France” reported, diverse reprises that I have called Chaos, and which mark the efforts of the Elements to get free of each other. At the 7th appearance of ‘On the 27th of September the Royal Academy of Music played, Chaos these efforts diminish as order begins to assert itself...’ after the Opera ‘Cadmus’ a new symphonic work, by Mr. Rebel Senior (Rebel’s son was also a prominent musician) entitled The suite which follows Chaos is filled with imaginative touches. In the opening ‘The Elements’, danced by Mlles. Salle and Mariette and by Ms. Air, the violin and bass heavily portray Earth while the flute (or in this case, Dumoulin, Dupre, Malter and Javilliers. This Divertissement, which recorder) imitates the flow of Water over the top. Fire is the subtitle ofthe was perfectly executed, and much applauded, is adorned with a set brilliant duple time Chaconne which follows, and Air is portrayed in the next which characterized the Elements and made a very grand effect.’ two movements; Ramage (warbling) and Rossignols (Nightingales). Rebel then The same journal in 1738 tells us: relaxes his programmatic strictures (at the request of his dancers?) and gives us a Loure with hunting calls, two rustic Tambourins, a beautiful canonic Sicillienne, ‘On the 17th and 22nd of March there were performances of and a final brilliantCaprice . So why make an arrangement for 4 players of a large ‘Chaos’ by M. Rebel Senior, the which, in the judgment of the scale symphonic work?

LES ELEMENS : 4 LES ELEMENS : 5 Sadly, Rebel’s full score doesn’t survive and every performance of Les Elemens, orchestral or otherwise, is in some measure an adaptation. Interestingly this doesn’t necessarily work against his intentions. What does survive is a short score which he published shortly after the premiere (this was the most common way to disseminate orchestral music at the time); 1 or 2 treble lines and a figured bass with occasional indications of scoring, which was intended for use in the home. By publishing the work in this format Rebel was opening up the possibility of performances by forces as intimate as ours, and indeed the score contains helpful advice on how to adjust certain movements so that they can even be performed by a single flute and harpsichord. It seems natural to us to pair Rebel with his friend and colleague at court; Marin Marais (1656-1728). In keeping with the theme of arrangement, we wanted to take up the challenge that Marais makes to purchasers of his 2nd book of piéces de violes; ‘I have taken care in composing these works to make them suitable for performance upon all sorts of instruments; the Organ, Harpsichord, Theorbo, Lute, Violin, Flute (he expands this list in his 3rd book to include the Guitar and Recorder), and I dare to flatter myself that I have succeeded...’ (I’d love to hear some Marais played on a large French Baroque Organ!) Marais also comments that in making arrangements he finds the combination of string and wind instruments particularly successful; ‘Fort Agreable’. Our Suite in A minor is drawn from various places: The Prelude from 3rd book PALLADIAN ENSEMBLE and Rondeau from 5th book, The Fantasie from 2nd book, and the Tombeau (for his friend and mentor Pierre Meliton) and Chaconne from 1st book. The epic set Described by Gramophone Magazine as “one of the best chamber music ensem- of variations on ‘La Folia’ which close our programme are also from the 2nd book bles - baroque, or otherwise - currently in business” the Palladian Ensemble is although they exist in a manuscript version which would place them among his firmly established on the international music scene as a quartet of the highest earliest works. All scholarship aside though, at the end of the day, the only reason calibre. In 10 years of recording for Linn Records the Palladian Ensemble’s series to make an arrangement of a piece of music (or indeed, to play music at all) is that of outstanding recordings have received unanimous praise including numerous you love it and think you can make it sound good. We certainly love this music Diapason D’Or and Gramophone Magazine ‘Editor’s Choice’ plaudits. They and can only hope that you will enjoy listening as much as we did playing! continue to maintain a busy schedule of concerts and radio broadcasts, appear- ing at prestigious music venues around the world. The group is Ensemble-in- William Carter, London 2003 Residence at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London.

LES ELEMENS : 6 LES ELEMENS : 7 PAMELA THORBY Meistersinger Conservatory of Nuremberg, and at the Frankfurt State Academy Recorders by Fred Morgan, Yuzuru Fukushima, Tim Cranmore. of Music, where she passed her recital diploma with distinction. She was then The recorder player Pamela Thorby received scholarships to study at the Guild- granted a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) scholarship to study hall School of Music and Drama in London and the Sweelinck Conservatory in with Wieland Kuijken at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Her career Amsterdam. Since then she has appeared as a soloist with established ensembles as chamber musician and soloist includes membership of the Oxford-based including the English Concert, Sonnerie and the New London Consort, featured period ensemble charivari agréable (with whom she has made a number of highly on many recordings for BBC radio and television and is a soloist on all of Karl praised CD recordings) and devoting her spare time to the editorship of Chari- Jenkins’ crossover Adiemus and Imagined Oceans albums. She performs as a vari Agréable Publications. The revised New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musi- guest with the British modern jazz quartet, the Perfect Houseplants, appearing cians (Grove VII) refers to her as “one of the leading players of this generation”. on their New Folk Songs album (LINN AKD 130). Pamela’s recent ‘Baroque Con- WILLIAM CARTER certos’ CD with Sonnerie led by Monica Huggett, (LINN CKD 183) has received Theorbo by Klaus T Jacobson unanimous praise from the classical music press and was a Gramophone Maga- Baroque Guitar by Martin Haycock zine ‘Editor’s Choice’. ‘Handel Recorder Sonatas’ with harpsichordist Richard Egarr, will be released by Linn Records in 2004. William Carter was born in Florida and earned both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees as a classical guitarist from Florida State University. William RODOLFO RICHTER worked for several years in North Carolina’s Artist-in-Residence programme and Violin: Andrea Guarneri, Cremona 1674 then accepted the post of Professor of Guitar at Pennsylvania State University. He Rodolfo Richter was trained as a modern violinist with Klaus Wusthoff and left America in 1989 as a Fulbright Scholar to study the lute with Nigel North at Pinchas Zuckermann and has studied composition with Hans Joachim Koe- the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has established a busy llreutter and Pierre Boulez. He studied baroque violin with Monica Huggett career of recording and concert performances with many eminent ensembles at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Rodolfo has broadcast live recitals and now lives in London, appearing frequently as a member of the Palladian for WFMT Radio (Chicago), BBC Radio 3 (London) and MDR (Leipzig) and Ensemble, the Academy of Ancient Music and the English Concert. William has was a prize-winner at the prestigious International Early Music Competition for recorded a solo album of baroque guitar music by Francesco Corbetta for Linn Ensembles in Bruges (2000) and at the Antonio Vivaldi International Violin Com- Records (LINN CKD 185).William is professor of Lute & Baroque Studies at the petition (2001). He has recorded Vivaldi solo concertos for Opus 111 and has Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. been invited to lead many orchestras, including the Academy of Ancient Music, the English Concert, the Hannover Band and St. James’ Baroque Players. In 2002 he joined the Palladian Ensemble. Recorded at St Andrews Church, Toddington, UK : 15-17 May 2003 Produced and Engineered by Philip Hobbs SUSANNE HEINRICH Post-Production by Julia Thomas 7-string bass viol after M. Collichon by Robert Eyland, 1998 Photographs of the Palladian Ensemble by Amit Lennon The Palladian Ensemble’s viola da gamba player Susanne Heinrich studied at the Design by www.haxby.net

LES ELEMENS : 8 LES ELEMENS : 9 @ Linn is an independent precision engineering company specialising in top quality audio and video reproduction. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun, Super Audio CD MBE in Glasgow, Scotland in 1972, the company grew out of Ivor’s love A high-density SACD looks a lot like a CD – it’s the same size and of music and the belief that he could vastly improve the sound quality of thickness, but it can store more than 6 times the amount of data, which his own hi-fi system. Now a global brand employing over 350 people, Linn makes better sound possible. is unremittingly committed to manufacturing products for applications where sound quality matters. SACD uses a new technology called Direct Stream Digital (DSD) to get music on and off the disc. It simplifies the digital encode/decode process, Linn strives to thrill customers who want the most out of life with so the sound you get is closer to the original music’s waveform. CD demonstrably higher fidelity complete audio and video entertainment sound is encoded in blocks of 16 bits and sampled 44,100 times a second. solutions. Our standards also ensure that even the most affordable DSD stores data as a stream of single bits with a 2.8224 MHz sampling Linn system can communicate the sheer thrill and emotion of the frequency – 64 times that of a CD. Add it all together and you get digital performance. music that sounds more real, and more alive than ever before. Linn has earned a unique reputation in the world of specialist hi-fi and All Linn SACDs are CD/SACD hybrids. This means they will play back multi-channel sound recording and reproduction. The company can now on ordinary CD players, but you will need an SACD player to access the satisfy the demanding requirement of any discriminating customer who higher definition SACD layer. Also, all your existing CDs can be played on cares about sound quality, longevity and reliability. any SACD player. Visit www.linn.co.uk for more information

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LES ELEMENS : 10 LES ELEMENS : 11 also available from linn records by Palladian Ensemble

An Excess of Pleasure The Winged Lion Bach Trio Sonatas A Choice Collection - CKD 010 - - CKD 015 - - CKD 036 - - CKD 041 -

Trios For 4 Les Amusantes The Sun King’s Paradise Held By The Ears - CKD 050 - - CKD 070 - - CKD 100 - - CKD 126 -

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