Description

One of Molière’s predecessors was the street entertainer and actor Jean Salomon. He was born in Paris around 1584 and was better known by Tabarin, his stage name. Tabarin’s plays were presented on a stage supported on trestle – a kind of open-air theatre. With their usual playful spirit Les Boréades offers a varied sampling of the theatrical music heard in Paris at the beginning of the 17th century. Amongst the composers included on this CD are Lambert Beaulieu, one of the musicians who collaborated on the 1581 Ballet comique de la reine, and the famous German composer Michael Prætorius, who published a huge compilation of French dances from various ballets de cours in 1612 under the title Terpsichore musarum. These works were harmonized in 4 to 6 parts. By 1564, Jean d’Estrée had published four books containing various popular dances arranged into suites.