©Hendrik Bouman, Quatuor Parc Monceau

in G minor - Scherzo

Music - 18th Century pre-classical style

Composer - Hendrik Bouman

Ensemble - Concerto Felice, direction Hendrik Bouman

World Première - Halifax 1749 Festival, Halifax

Nova Scotia, Canada 1999

Recorded - Baroque SaMuse ‘live’ for ARYA 2007 in

Montreal Baroque Festival, Château Ramsay, Canada

©Hendrik Bouman, Quatuor Parc Monceau

en Sol mineur - Scherzo

Musique - style préclassique du XVIIIe siècle

Compositeur - Hendrik Bouman

Ensemble - Concerto Felice, direction Hendrik Bouman

Première mondiale - Halifax 1749 Festival, Halifax

Nova Scotia, Canada 1999

Enregistré - Baroque SaMuse en concert - ARYA  2007

au Festival Montréal Baroque, Château Ramsay, Canada

Hendrik Bouman on his Compositions

“The Scherzo is one of the movements of my Parc Monceau Quartet. Several inspirations led to my writing this music that, in spite of its 18th Century pre-classical musical language, has a rather uncommon instrumentation with its three string instruments plus obligato keyboard.

Due to the nature of the sound production of the harpsichord, this instrument does not allow itself easily to play an autonomous or solo role in combination with other instruments. Historically, it either played entirely solo or it was used as accompaniment. Nevertheless, in the course of the 18th Century a few exceptions were made, notably by Johann Sebastian Bach with his Harpsichord Concertos and Sonatas with obbligato harpsichord, and his sons who followed suit, as well as by Jean-Philippe Rameau with his Pièces de Clavecin en Concert and other French composers who introduced the Pièce de Clavecin accompagnée.

Another example of integrating an obbligato harpsichord part in an instrumental ensemble I encountered in the keyboard quintets of the Spanish composer Padre Soler, a pupil of Domenico Scarlatti. What struck me about these pieces was the full autonomy of all the instruments. Of additional interest is the fact that all of Soler’s quintets contain more than the usual 3 or 4 movements. In addition to the movements where all instruments participate

some are for string quartet, trio or even duo without participation of the harpsichord, and another that is assigned to the harpsichord as an independent solo.

In my Quartet Parc Monceau, I followed suit and composed a generous six movements and applied some of my own experiments in instrumentation. In the Scherzo I solved the apparent accoustical incompatibility between the harpsichord and the strings by creating a dialogue of lively alternations.

Hendrik Bouman, Toulouse, 2019