With this Volume 4, Susie Napper and Margaret Little, as the bass viol team Les Voix Humaines, have completed their traversal of Sainte-Colombe’s collection of 67 “Concerts” for two viols. Although you’d have to be a serious devotee to own all four double-CD sets, there’s no question that the music’s design and structure are distinctive–and certainly quite distinct from the more familiar viol consort music from England and the Netherlands during the 16th and 17th centuries. Sainte-Colombe, about whom little biographical information is known, treated the bass viol not as a consort member but as a virtuoso solo instrument, and these duets are not strictly-measured dance movements but rather are true dialogs, rooted in improvisatory use of inflection, tempo, and phrasing. Thus, the performances–like spontaneous conversations–are unique not only relative to the performers but to the particular occasion.
Obviously, Napper and Little have significant experience with these works and with this style of French viol playing in general. They exhibit a fascinating, intuitive give and take that’s especially affecting at certain phrase endings where the melodic lead shifts from one player to the other. Other illustrious viol virtuosos, such as Jordi Savall, have recorded some of Sainte-Colombe’s works, but this is the first time all 67 duets have been recorded–and in a well-researched modern performing edition by Jonathan Dunford. It’s an admirable project that not only fills a hole in the catalog but also confirms Sainte-Colombe’s amazing versatility as a composer in what in lesser hands could be a creatively confining genre. The sound is clear and resonant and complementary to the voices of these beautiful instruments. [8/2/2007]
