Francois Couperin - Les barricades mysterieuses (on the piano)

[violetparme]

fast indeed, but so bold!makes me feel like dancing,dancing some king of crazy dancing;I would LOOOVE it. It's a good thing musician can put their personal touch into a piece!I don't think this interpretation spoils anything.I know nothing about music. I've got a very" barbaric" approach to it:there are some renditions I enjoy others I can't bear and don't care about the theory around the piece. I am utterly ignorant, and relish the freedom this gives me! Thanks for this post!

[encopio]

I like the dynamics.

[theanswer00]

if you play this fast we can't understand the bass line, wich is the most important part of the piece probably

[ikbengoed1223]

You can play this fast, but you have to make sure you hit every key properly

[plugee]

The album cover is just stupid.

[s1earle]

All versions at speed have attributes; listeners have the benefit of shunning and moving onto other versions - this is one such performance and should be considered alongside such renditions as that of Cziffra etc.

[goodtwitch]

I really loved this...

[yanespar]

tooo fast! u lose the sense of the notes in every voice.

[GBlazer420]

no offense, you are highly talented but i do not like this version! the bass should be a little more prominent, and right hand a little more muted! you are veyr talented though

[thomaswong8105]

I love this interpretation, its speed and elegance, and all the loveliness otherwise. So well done!

[frenchiecocorico1]

Why does people forget the tempo is "Vivement" (Briskly)?

Why wouild people listen this piece as a romantic music?

Why does people imagine some syncopation where there is a regular accentuation on the main beats?

Why does people analyse this piece on a wrong way and never observe :

1°) The notes resonance by extending their durations to the next beat, as if that piece would be played on a Harp instead a Harpsichord

2°) The bass line is included in the melody as a response to the treble.

[marr21]

I like it, i like it's fastness. When i heard the usual slow version for the first time i thought it was a good idea that can't go further and repeats itself boringly, too long, too flat. This interpretation is clever and it sets free the virtues of the original composition.

[Jienfantastiku]

I mean seriously! slow down! totally ruined it!

[serchnrescue]

not sure i can envision a young child when i hear this; he was referring to a woman's petticoats and how he wished he could explore the mysterious layers that hide her flesh from his peering eyes and exploring hands...

[serchnrescue]

not sure i can envision a young child when i hear this; he was referring to a woman's petticoats and how he wished he could explore the mysterious layers that hide her flesh from his peering eyes and exploring hands...

[milwgac]

It's like joyfully running downhill....sweet...

[hymntonight]

OMG, I must learn this! It's sublime.

[dashinglarry]

Yes indeed too fast...loses it's appeal. I play it on marimba with 4 mallets! LOL I can only play it a nice andante.

[EmdrGreg]

His Tic-Toc-Choc is luminous; I think he misses the mark with Baricades. He is very young, and perhaps still entranced by his formidable gifts. When he matures he will know that Vivement does not necessarily mean break-neck. He has a gorgeous tone, however, and plays with skill and control. In general, I love this guy's playing.

[anainesfeola]

well, on the score it says clearly "vivement", although it is normally played slower. it`s interesting to hear such different interpretations of this piece. it sounds beautiful, but i think it was clearly written for the sound of the harpsichord, which makes it one of the most beautiful pieces of french baroque harpsichord music. it suits the instrument so well. it IS harpsichord.

[akane528bruno]

I received a big influence from this Tharaud's performance.

I also played this work.

[pmontu]

its very nice, beautiful soung

[pmontu]

its very nice

[Msgrenouille7]

I love how he brings out that amazing bass line at 1:13'! Great flowing tempo. He convinced me of all his musical ideas. Beautiful!

[cameronique]

I love this so happy!

[kerawelt]

C'est tout simplement magnifique. La musique, l'interprétation... tout quoi... Il émane de cette musique un je ne sais quoi de calmant...

[flammesombres]

these comment sections are filled with such pretentious morons.

[LordBeaumont]

@flammesombres Yourself included??

[LordBeaumont]

@flammesombres

You included?

[B5guy]

I enjoyed from :59 to 1:04 at this speed

[isabelbleuet]

tout est beau, et quel titre! merci...

[Fuliginosus]

Maybe too fast, but still very entertaining.

[plugee]

This might be the worst album cover I've ever seen; what the hell are his fingers doing? Certainly not playing the piano...

[Freedonio]

pour ceux qui trouvent ça trop rapide, écoutez donc la version de Marcelle Meyer....

je ne vois pas pourquoi il faudrait reproduire au piano ce qu'on fait au clavecin...

[robertebguy]

Cher Monsieur Tharaud, si vos yeux se promènent un jour sur ces commentaires, sachez que votre interprétation est sublime.

Bien à vous, continuez, à vous entendre, ils s'habitueront....

[mturbevi]

This probably would go over okay with an audience as an encore piece . Played like this it´s short,quick and still has Couperin´s beautiful, innocent music.

[edwardpiercy]

I love Tharaud on the piano for the French baroque. Too fast? He makes the music live again instead of playing the works like some boring reading "from the past." Bravo!

[iHeartFerenc]

Too fast and busy for my liking - You just aren't struck with the same mood and expression as when played more slowly

[Olan38]

Petite pensée pour mon ami Pierre C, une vive et alerte des "Barricades Mystérieuses" de Couperin, interprétation: Alexandre Tharaud, pianiste non-conformiste et sensible.

En prime, le lien vers son site ....

(à y découvrir: TicTocChoc, du même Couperin)

[JPConnolly2]

I generally like and respect Tharaud, but this particular interpretation is willfully obtuse and bizarre.

[Malachayas]

Well, i personally love this interpretation. Just because Tharud does not try to play this piece like it would be played on a harpsichord, but invents a new form of playing this piece for the piano.

(Which does not mean that I do not like the other form of interpretation.)

[amatorynumber]

a bit too fast??? he took the 'vivement' at heart... but I like anyway :-D

[ArcanaMundi81]

@amatorynumber

I don't like this interpretation, it's too romantic, it looks like Chopin....

[pmlgarmor]

Très belle élégance du jeu mais (à mon avis) un peu trop rapide.

[Skypad00]

Is this piece meant to be this fast??

[Habrolissimo]

This is superb. There are many versions of this piece on youtube, and many good ones, but this is the best.

[flic71]

questa versione così veloce mi piace un casino!!!

BRAVO e BELLO!!!

[persistantpianist]

I'm going to have to agree with marklowski and ecomparone. It is a bit too fast for my liking, and it is difficult to hear all the voices in this version of the piece. Or maybe I just prefer it on the harpsichord? Nancy Allen does a very good job of this piece to, I suggest to anyone to look that video up. But overall, this is a good recording as well. Thank you for posting it.

[ma85fr]

rapide mais beau son égal, jeu fluide , léger . Plus qu un murmure assurément , une certitude .

[emilelaroche]

moi je suis du cote de ceux qui prefere une version plus lente, qui permet de mieux s'impreigner des incroyables harmonies et des emotions qu'elles evoquent. Mais c'est vrai que l'interpretation est magistrale...

[jacmerca]

Certes la version est rapide mais l'émotion, avec une légère pointe d'angoisse, est intacte. Interprétation envoutante et magistrale.Bravo!

[marklowski]

Listen to the version posted by WithoutTomEvans for a better idea of what I'm referring to below.

[marklowski]

This interpretation, in my humble opinion, is entirely too fast and ruins the aesthetic of the piece as a whole. It should be a lumbering, strolling, andante. (I always imagine a young child on a walk noticing the wonderment of the world around him). There is an inherent nostalgia, an innocence and slight melancholy to the piece if played at the right tempo.

[hpaulmoon]

@marklowski Your opinion rings true, even ironically, because the world is starting to hear this work at large now that Terrence Malick made it central to "The Tree of Life" -- and it depicts just what you wrote: A young child on a walk noticing the wonderment of the world around him.

[marklowski]

@hpaulmoon. Thanks for the comment. I had heard that the piece was being used in a recent film. I'll be sure and check it out. :-)

[frenchiecocorico1]

@marklowski Precisely, the "right tempo" indicated by François Couperin himself is "Vivement" (Briskly) it means FAST and not at all a "lumbering and scrolling Andante" as you supposed. Precisely the aesthetic of this piece is neither romantic nor melanchlic or nostalgic and certainly not innocent while it evokes the lady petticoats!

This piece is as springy as cheerful. In fact, it is a bawdy joke.

Here the only "Mysterious Barricades" I saw, were in your mind.

[ThomasYorkshire]

@marklowski That is a superb description of the emotion of this piece. Thank you for that.

[Malachayas]

Wow. This piece sounds so modern, if one didn't know that it was composed by Couperin, one could think that it came from the 20th century.

[ecomparone]

I don't mind the tempo. Unfortunately, in this rendition it's hard to hear the tenor and bass voices throughout, which would be ideal. Sometimes the player brings them out, but the right hand obscures them with its busy-ness.

[frenchiecocorico1]

@ecomparone Quand on joue aussi mal que vous et de façon aussi inexacte, on évite de donner des leçons aux autres.

[MNYCNY]

My God, so fast I could not recognize it!

[manchetknoop]

It is fast indeed, but did you like it?

[tamiko9]

absolutely .