LES FRÈRES DUPORT. THE PARIS SONATAS
Jean-Pierre and Jean-Louis Duport were two of the most important musicians of their time. Their influence was crucial to place the cello in the place it occupies nowadays. Born in Paris in 1741 and 1749 respectively, they took their first musical steps in the same city. Jean-Pierre began his studies with the renowned cellist Martin Berteau, and made his public début with one of his sonatas in 1761 in one of the Concert Spirituel organized in the Tuileries Palace, with immediate success. He quickly became one of the regular musicians in those soirées, praised by the critics. As the Mercure the France said, “the instrument is no longer recognizable between his hands. It talks, expresses, makes everything go beyond this charm which only the violin was thought to have”. On the other hand, Jean-Louis’ début in front of a Parisian audience was on the same stage in 1768, after being taught by his older brother. Naturally, he gained public recognition in these concerts, in which he played until the early 1770s.
All the music selected for this album was published in Paris and had never been recorded before. It comes from the Duport brothers’ youth years. Although we cannot be sure, some of these sonatas might have been played in their first concert in the Tuileries Palace in Paris. The sonatas by Jean-Pierre are part of his first two books, published between 1766 and 1772. The Sonata V of his second book has a special characteristic: in the manuscript of this piece that is kept in the library of Eichstätt University, we can find a written cadence – probably by the same author – which we have included in the recording. The three sonatas by Jean-Louis are the whole of his second opus.
Awarded album of the month by ResMusica magazine in May 2020.
"Great appreciation for these Spanish musicians who not only removed these sonatas from oblivion, but also demonstrate in their playing great expressive commitment in a technically perfect frame."
Aart van der Wal , Opus Klassiek magazine.
