This recording reflects musical life in France in the eighteenth century. Leaving aside the prestigious repertoire of vocal and instrumental works, however, Les Musiciens de Saint-Julien share with us music that played an important part, first of all, in the daily lives and musical practices of the aristocracy, before gaining much wider appeal among the Parisian middle and lower classes, so that in the end it was popular at every level of society. Everyone in eighteenth-century Paris was familiar with and fond of the songs known as brunettes and petits airs tendres. Minuets, too, their tunes borrowed from well-known operas and their words sometimes changed, and contredanses (country dances), imported from the ballrooms of England, permeated society, appealing to the lowly and to the titled alike. These pieces were not intended for passive listening, but to be played, sung, danced, and experienced on a daily basis, whenever the opportunity arose. Being appreciated throughout the various social strata, they acted, so to speak, as a common denominator- a taste and a sensitivity that were shared by all, in the French capital and beyond.
