Boismortier: Don Quichotte chez la Duchess
Soloists
Le Concert Spirituel
Hervé Niquet
I was vaguely aware of Boismortier as a composer - I think I played some bassoon music of his once, but I don’t think that I have ever properly listened to any of this music. I was really impressed by the score, which is very much in the French tradition of Rameau. As to be expected the scoring was rich and sonorous, with some spectacular horn writing early on, and there was the usual variety of arias, ensembles, choral sections and dance music. The whole peice is actually described as a comic ballet although it is sung throughout - a good example of the way that French stage works of this period had much of their roots in the music of the dance. There really is something very special about late baroque French opera. Rameau has been one of my all time favourite composers since I discovered his music about 20 years ago (see this note in last year’s project https://andrew365newpieces.blogspot.com/2025/03/rameau-la-princess-de-navarre.html) and I am using the project to explore more of this repertoire. There is plenty to go at.
