Martin Berteau - Michel Corrette - Joseph Bodin de Boismortier - Jean-Baptiste Barrière - Louis-François-Joseph Patouart

A French Odyssey - Music for two cellos by Rameau, Barriere, Corrette, Boismortier, Berteau & Patouart

UnderStories Ensemble

Label: Challenge Classics
Format: CD
Barcode: 0608917200164

Catalog number: CC 720016
Releasedate: 06-06-25

- Debut recording of a young and already distinguished French-Italian Baroque ensemble: UnderStories.
- UnderStories is an innovative, bass-favouring period ensemble with a focus on the repertoire of its dark and unusual instrumentation.
- Another major element of the ensemble’s activity is to treat Baroque music as liberally as it was done within the period itself, where arranging and changing instrumentations was the order of the day.
- This first disc focuses on the raise of the cello as solo instrument in France.

The ferment of the Enlightenment, the early signs of the Revolution and the intellectual debate on colonialism fuel this French odyssey.
During the Age of Exploration, France experienced an unprecedented cultural fervor. Trade routes and distant cultures enriched its identity. Exotic sounds and rhythms shaped both noble salons and concert halls. In this quest for new sonorities, by the mid-18th century, the cello finally gained prominence in France, replacing the viola da gamba, which had dominated European music for centuries.
The emphasis on deep sonorities is the culmination of this recording, featuring compositions by Louis-François-Joseph Patouart and Martin Bertin. The latter’s story is particularly significant, embodying the spirit of the recording: he founded the French cello school, despite having started his career with the viola da gamba