Couperin goes Country

What happens when the refined elegance of the French airs de cour meets the rhinestone soul of Dolly Parton? Find out in this high-spirited musical smash-up where the Palace of Versailles meets the Grand Ole Opry.

Prepare for an afternoon of unexpected harmonies and delightful friction. We’re stripping the powder off the wigs and adding a little grit to the harpsichord. This performance brings the intricate, soulful melodies of François Couperin and French airs de Cours in conversation with classic country-western storytelling.

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The Program at a Glance

• Baroque Twang: Experience Couperin’s Les Barricades Mystérieuses

• Courtly Heartbreak: Hear the melancholic "airs" of the 17th century blended seamlessly into the "high lonesome sound" of the Appalachian hills.

• Wire & Strings: A unique ensemble featuring viola da gamba violins and harpsichord, that takes on music from a 1700s salon and a 1950s honky-tonk - songs about heartbreak are timeless.

From the sun-drenched courts of Louis XIV to the neon lights of Nashville, this concert explores the universal language of the "lament"—with a bit of extra twang for good measure.

It’s Baroque with a backbone and Dolly with a drop of decadence.

Dust off your boots and straighten your cravat. It’s going to be a wild ride.

PROGRAM

    Program

Take me home, Country Roads

Trio de la Chambre du Roi                               Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687)
Country Roads, Take me home                               John Denver (1943-1997)
Les Bergeries                                                            François Couperin (1668-1733)
Seven Bridges Road                                                         Steve Young (1942-2016)
Troisieme Fête Rustique                           Jacques-Christophe Naudot (1690-1762)

Songbirds

Blue Valley Songbird                                                              Dolly Parton (1946-)
Little Sparrow 

Intermission

Love, Bitter and Sweet

Belle Catin, je vous adore- Ariette Anne M. Guédon des Presles (1720-1754)
Solitaires témoins – Air sérieux
Vole, Amour - Musette
Le vin flate – Minuet Bacchique

 Les Langueurs-tendres      François Couperin                                                                                    
Auprès de vous je souffrois chaque jour    Françoise-Charlotte de Senneterre Ménétou (1679-1745)

Quand on aime bien tendrement
On dit qu'Amour vient surprendre

 Everything is going to be all right

Les Barricades Mystérieuses from Ordre 6ème de clavecin in B-flat major           François Couperin

Trio Sonata No. 3 in D major          Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729)

In the sweet by and by                                                   Joseph Webster (1819-1875)

Light of a Clear Blue Morning    Dolly Parton                                                                                   
ARTISTS
Danielle Reutter-Harrah, soprano
Bryan Boehnke, recorder
Tekla Cunningham, baroque violin
David Morris, viola da gamba
Henry Lebedinsky, harpsichord and plucked instruments