Composer: Auguste Tolbecque
Performer: Jean-Luc Ayroles, Jan Willem Jansen, Caroline Esposito, Christophe Coin
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Passacaille
Catalogue: PAS1068
Release: 2020
Size: 1.29 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Barcarolle pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 6 No. 1: Andante cantabile
02. Danse cosaque ‘ Kozatchok’ pour violoncelle seul, Op. 21: Allegretto
03. Rêverie pour violoncelle et orgue, Op. 9
04. Musette pastorale pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 6 No. 2: Allegretto
05. La Styrienne pour piano, Op. 4: Andante – Mouvement de valse
Concertstuke [sic] pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 19
06. I. Romance cantabile
07. II. Allegro agitato
08. Deux pièces pour violoncelle solo sans accompagnement, Op. 22: Les Vagues – Moderato
09. Prière pour violoncelle et orgue, Op. 9: Andantino religioso
10. Après la Valse Ouverture pour piano à 4 mains, Op. 20: Gaiement
Sérénade et Saltarelle pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 7
11. I. Andantino
12. II. Presto e spiritoso
Elégie pour violoncelle et orgue, Op. 8
13. Andante plaintivo
Romance et Polonaise pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 5
14. I. Romance
15. II. Polonaise
16. Deux pièces pour violoncelle solo sans accompagnement, Op. 22: Marche des mousquetaires, 1727
17. Fantaisie de Bravoure pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 13: Marziale – Thème et variation – Cantabile – Allegretto
Andante et Rondo pour violoncelle et piano, Op. 10
18. I. Andante
19. II. Rondo
A concert cellist, composer, scholarly collector and instrument maker, Auguste Tolbecque left his mark on the histories of performing early music, collecting, and of reconstituting historical musical instruments. Whilst several studies have been devoted to his life as instrument maker and collector, the least explored aspect of his life remains his work as composer. Up until this moment, no recordings have been made of his works. The release of this CD is not only a commemoration of the centenary of his death but is also a testimony to the many-sided career of one of the most singular characters of French musical life during the second half of the 19th century.
Born in Paris in 1830, Auguste Tolbecque arrived in Niort, in the Deux-Sèvres department, 26 years later after marrying a woman from the very same town. This is where he laid down his roots and started a family, spending his time organising and enlivening the musical goings-on of the small town in in Western France. Auguste Tolbecque’s dedication to baroque music and instruments from the past would nowadays have made him a totally contemporary musician. He was fascinated by a past that Mérimée and Viollet-le-Duc were indeed dedicated to preserving with their work on masterpieces of Roman, gothic and Renaissance heritage.
But while the musician may have preserved instruments, he appeared to resist playing them, the fact being that it was not yet in fashion to experiment with the styles of playing from past times. It’s thanks to the initiative of cellist and Tolbecque connaisseur Christophe Coin that this album saw the light of day with the presentation of over twenty of the forgotten composer’s works. An instrument-maker, composer and cellist, (Saint-Saëns dedicated his First Concerto to him), author of operettas and operas that have since faded away, Tolbecque has waited a long time for his moment in the spotlight since his death just after the end of the First World War. Inaugurated in November 2019, a century after his death, the brand new Conservatoire Auguste Tolbecque in Niort prolongs this event with this release dedicated to his chamber music, mainly his work for cello and piano, but also for the organ and 2 and 4 hands on the piano, in keeping with the style of the Second Empire.