L'unique Vinikour

"Following on the success of their widely acclaimed Music & Arts release J.S. Bach: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord, Stephen Schultz (Baroque flute) and Jory Vinikour (harpsichord) are joined by Alexa Haynes-Pilon (viola da gamba), and Mindy Rosenfeld (Baroque flute) in superlative performances of François Couperin’s four Concerts Royaux; works which stand among the pinnacles of the Golden Age that was French music during the reign of Louis XIV. This state-ofthe- art recording was produced and engineered at Skywalker Sound by two-time Grammy Award winner Jack Vad (2012, 2021).

Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and harpsichordist Jory Vinikour, critically acclaimed artists of interntional renown- and also close friends-record together for the first time on this album of J.S. Bach's complete sonatas for violin and harpsichord. The artists approach these works as Bach intended: as trio sonatas with equally important roles for the violin and the harpsichord's treble and bass lines. In addition to the six Sonatas, the album offers the remarkable and ravishingly poetic Cantabile, BWV 1019a, a free-standing work that Bach originally conceived as a movement of the Sonata, BWV 1019.

Vinikour and Delos’ beautiful new recording of this timeless classic features a performance of supreme elegance and an instrument built in 1998 by Kevin Fryer (inspired by the 1624 Ioannes Ruckers Colmar harpsichord) of unusual beauty and tone. The Goldberg Variations appeal on every possible level, transporting the listener to the incredible heights made possible by Bach’s masterful ingenuity.

The six partitas for harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach are among the greatest and most inspired works of all keyboard literature. Although they are the first works that Bach decided to publish, they represent the composer's genius at the height of his maturity, matched only by the Goldberg Variations. Performed on a stunning copy of a North German instrument of Bach's time, rich and expressive, but also clear and incisive, built by Tom and Barbara Wolf, each of the partitas is a microcosm, ranging from the poetic and pastoral (no. 1, in B flat Major), to the epic and tragic (no. 6, in e minor). Bach shows himself to be playful, profound, meditative, theatrical, virtuoso - and always the greatest composer of counterpoint of all time.

Jory Vinikour, one of the outstanding harpsichordists of his generation, celebrates the Handel year with a wonderful new recording of Handel s 'Great' Suites, topped off with a special version of the famous Chaconne in G Major. Jory's Handel is unquestionably as 'definitive' as his celebrated version of the Bach Goldberg Variations. Thenobility, tenderness and delightful variety of each Suite speaks of Jory's musical perspective not only as a virtuoso, but also as a conductor, opera continuist and joint recitalist in the course of his highly diversified career. The warm sound of this new Handel recording can be attributed to the instrument Jory plays, which is based on the 1739 Dresden harpsichord built by Heinrich Gräbner, with its extended basses and corresponding richness of timbre.

Jennifer Bouton’s VIVALDI PICCOLO CONCERTOS is the first complete recording of the concerti by an American piccoloist. Bouton possesses a mastery over these works, having performed the most famous and beloved C Major concerto (RV 443) numerous times, notably with the Milwaukee Symphony and Nicholas McGegan in 2023.