{"id":29340,"date":"2022-02-14T12:08:07","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T10:08:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.camac-harps.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/constance-luzzati-le-baroque-francais-et-la-harpe-de-concert\/"},"modified":"2022-03-08T11:32:03","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T09:32:03","slug":"constance-luzzati-french-baroque-and-the-concert-harp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.camac-harps.com\/blog\/en\/latest\/constance-luzzati-french-baroque-and-the-concert-harp\/","title":{"rendered":"Constance Luzzati, French baroque and the concert harp"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Constance<\/a>

Constance Luzzati. Photo: Marthe Lemelle<\/p><\/div>\n

Constance Luzzati<\/a> is crowdfunding<\/a> an album entirely dedicated to Rameau on the harp. Recorded on the Paraty<\/a> label, it will be the latest in a growing body of work on harp transcriptions. We have contributed and the fundraising is continuing here<\/a> until the end of February.<\/p>\n

Sir Thomas Beecham famously decreed that \u201cA musicologist is a man who can read music but cannot hear it.\u201d Perhaps he had a point in 1940\u2026fortunately, the perplexing chasm between music theory and performance practice is receding, thanks to the work of artists who do both.<\/p>\n

Constance Luzzati is an alumna of the demanding dual Sorbonne \u00b7 CNSM musicology and performance course, and fell in love with baroque music during musicology lectures. \u201cPerformers want to play music they would also like to go and listen to in a concert, so I then wanted to play more baroque literature on the harp\u201d, she explains. She began transcribing Frescobaldi, before moving to later baroque. \u201cIt\u2019s too early for an equal-tempered instrument like the modern harp\u201d, she explains. \u201cI enjoy playing continuo on early harps, but I didn\u2019t want to change my own solo instrument. So I looked for something else, focusing on the 18th century because firstly there is a lot more accessible repertoire than from the 17th, and secondly to avoid these temperament issues. This was how I came to write my doctoral thesis<\/a> on 18th century French baroque, performed on the modern harp.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a musicological and practical methodology from the outset, reading through the literature at the harp sharpened Constance\u2019s focus on Rameau. Couperin, Dulphy and Royer were musically inspiring, but \u201cdidn\u2019t work as well. I love playing their music and it pushes the harpist to their limits, and some adaptation is unavoidable.\u201d In this video<\/a>, 2\u201950, Constance provides an entertaining illustration of where Royer\u2019s Vertigo may be forever clavecin. \u201cWhat I also love about Rameau\u201d, she continues, \u201cis how his music is highly contrasted, but it\u2019s never over-stylised, he doesn\u2019t indulge in mannerisms. Whether it\u2019s a poetic, reflective work like Les Soupirs, Entretien des muses or Rappel des oiseaux, or a theatrical one like Les Cyclopes, or a more abstract piece like an allemande, his powerful musical intellect underpins everything and that makes his music very satisfying to perform and to listen to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
I want to enable video content and agree that data will be loaded from Google (see Privacy Policy<\/a>).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n