A new recording, unique in the catalogue, of the First (and only surviving) book of keyboard works by Charles De Mars (1702-1774).
Compared to many other composers of his era, we know a good deal about the life of de Mars (alternatively known as Demars), making it all the more surprising that the present collection represents all the music of his to have come down to us. He was born to a wax merchant in Sézanne, a small town on the border between the French regions of Brie and Champagne. Several of his relatives were musicians, organists in particular, such as his two brothers. Indeed, we can trace more than 12 members of the De Mars/Tourneur dynasty as organists all over France. Again, the curiosity is that none of their compositions have survived, though they would have written music for their posts just as Charles de Mars did.
There is a Handelian flavour to the harmony of the four suites in De Mars’s volume, which was published in 1735 and therefore could conceivably have been written with awareness of the older composer’s Eight Great Suites for harpsichord. Many features of the volume make it a singular body of work in the French harpsichord tradition. De Mars eschews descriptive titles for individual movements, and occasionally prescribes the performer to play with ‘notes égales’, and therefore specifically not in the inégale style which we associate with French keyboard composers of the day.
As a specialist in this field of unfamiliar keyboard repertoire from the 17th and 18th centuries, with an impressive catalogue of Brilliant Classics albums already to his credit, Simone Pierini has explored the life and work of De Mars for himself, and produced an authoritative booklet essay to accompany his new recording of the Pièces de Clavecin. The Fanfare reviewer of his 3CD album of keyboard sonatas by Hélène de Montgeroult considered it ‘a major addition to the catalogue’, noting that Pierini ‘plays with tremendous energy and conviction.’
- The Pièces de clavecin by Charles de Mars (1707–1774) are written in the rich tradition of French Baroque harpsichord music. A composer largely overshadowed by luminaries like François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau, de Mars nonetheless contributed to the genre with his distinctive style, characterized by elegant ornamentation and a refined sense of harmony.
- De Mars’s harpsichord works are steeped in the galant aesthetic, bridging the ornate Baroque style with the more expressive and accessible traits of the early Classical period. His music often features dance forms like the allemande, courante, and sarabande, which were central to the French clavecinistes.
- One of the hallmarks of his Pièces de clavecin is his innovative use of ornaments, or agréments, which add a shimmering quality to the melodies. These works also reflect de Mars’s ability to evoke character and mood, making them miniature portraits of the 18th-century French musical ethos.
- Played by Simone Pierini on a harpsichord by Giulio Fratini after M. Mietke, 2014. Born in Rome in 1996, Pierini began studying music at the age of eight. Aged eighteen, he graduated in piano at S. Cecilia Conservatory of Music, Rome, with highest honors. He afterwards grew interest in historically informed piano practice, attending masterclasses led by Alexei Lubimov, Andreas Staier, Tobias Koch, Stefano Fiuzzi. Subsequently, his interest about historical keyboards in general grew further, and he began studying harpsichord and basso continuo with such teachers as Andrea Coen and Giovanni Togni. His recordings with music by Cherubini and the complete piano sonatas by Hélène de Montgeroult were very positively received by the press. Classic FM nominated him as one of the 30 best musicians under 30 in 2024.
