Biography (read more)
Antoine Forqueray was a French composer and virtuoso of the viola da gamba, born September 1672 in Paris and died 28 June 1745. A child prodigy, he performed before Louis XIV at age ten, and the king funded his musical education before naming him musicien ordinaire of the royal chamber in 1689, a post he held for life. He became renowned for a dramatic, brash performing style that contrasted with the sweeter manner of his contemporary Marin Marais, prompting the critic Hubert Le Blanc’s famous remark that “Marais played like an angel, and Forqueray like the devil.” Of the roughly 300 pieces he was said to have written, only 32 survive, published posthumously in 1747 by his son Jean-Baptiste Forqueray as Pièces de viole, together with a harpsichord arrangement.
Forqueray’s fierce, technically demanding style expanded the expressive and virtuosic possibilities of the viola da gamba in French Baroque music, standing as the dramatic counterpart to Marais’s lyricism. His stature among his peers is reflected in the character pieces of his surviving suites, which honor contemporaries such as Rameau and Couperin (the movement “La Couperin,” from Suite No. 1 in D minor), while in turn Rameau, Couperin, and Jacques Duphly each composed a piece titled “La Forqueray” in tribute to him.
Sources:
Repertoire
La Couperin1747 (published)
Performed by Alborada éditions
Pièces de viole, Suite No.1 in D Minor: No. 1, La La Borde – Allemande— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.1 in D Minor: No. 3, La Cottin— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.1 in D Minor: No. 4, La Bellmont— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.1 in D Minor: No. 5, La Portugaise— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.1 in D Minor: No. 6, La Couperin— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.5 in C Minor: No. 1, La Rameau— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.5 in C Minor: No. 2, La Guignon— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.5 in C Minor: No. 4, La Boisson— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.5 in C Minor: No. 6, La Sylva— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Pièces de viole, Suite No.5 in C Minor: No. 7, Jupiter— Jos Van Immerseel
Performed by Jos Van Immerseel
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D minor – 1. Allemande: La Laborde— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D minor – 2. La Forqueray— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D minor – 3. La Cottin— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D minor – 4. La Bellmont— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D minor – 5. La Portugaise— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D minor – 6. La Couperin— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 2 in G major – 1. La Bouron— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 2 in G major – 2. La Mandoline— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 2 in G major – 3. La Du Breüil— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 2 in G major – 4. La Leclair— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 2 in G major – 5. La Buisson: Chaconne— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 1. La Ferrand— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 2. La Régente— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 3. La Tronchin— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 4. La Angrave— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 5. La Du Vaucel— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 6. La Eynaud— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 3 in D major – 7. La Morangis ou la Plissay— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 1. La Marella— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 2. La Clémont— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 3. Sarabande: La D’Aubonne— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 4. La Bournonville— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 6. La Carillon de Passy— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 7. La Latour— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – 8. La Carillon de Passy (reprise)— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 5 in C minor – 1. La Rameau— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 5 in C minor – 2. La Guignon— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 5 in C minor – 3. La Léon: Sarabande— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 5 in C minor – 4. La Boisson— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 5 in C minor – 5. La Montigni— Christophe Rousset
Performed by Christophe Rousset
Forqueray: Suite No. 1 in D Minor – No. 4, La Bellmont (Arr. Antoine Fougeray and Feuillâtre…— Raphaël Feuillâtre
Performed by Raphaël Feuillâtre
Pièces de viole, Suite No. 1 en ré mineur: V. La Portugaise. Marqué et d’aplomb— Thomas Dunford
Performed by Thomas Dunford
Pièces de viole, Suite No. 5 en ut mineur: VI. La Sylva. Très tendrement— Thomas Dunford
Performed by Thomas Dunford