Duphly

Scott Ross was an American harpsichordist who was both popular and renowned for his brilliant technique and insightful interpretations. He recorded the complete works of Scarlatti, Rameau, and Couperin, three composers, along with J.S. Bach, whose music he became identified with over his brief career. Ross was also a highly respected harpsichord teacher in Canada and France.

Alexandre Tharaud pays tribute to composers associated with the courts of the French kings Louis XIV, XV and XVI. Lully, Rameau, Charpentier and François Couperin stand beside lesser-known masters: d’Anglebert, Forqueray, Royer, Duphly and Balbastre. “I’ve always been attracted by French music of this period,” says Tharaud, adding that when he plays the album’s initial Rameau prelude, “It’s like being alone at Versailles, opening the doors and entering those huge, imposing rooms.”

Fans of harpsichord music are likely to be enchanted by A French Collection, which includes 17 pièces de clavecin from the Baroque repertoire, performed by Skip Sempé. Each piece, from Duphly's lovely Les Grâces to Balbastre's turbulent La Suzanne, is charming in itself, and taken together they form an attractive cross-section of French harpsichord music from the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Sempé has been a prominent early music interpreter, both a soloist and ensemble leader, with a long line of recordings dating back to 1990.

Listening to Alexandra Ivanova's first recording with Genuin, we are able to experience the very essence of the harpsichord! The Russian pianist and harpsichordist presents herself in a juxtaposition of contemporary and early music that creates exciting reflections: the new seems familiar, while old seems excitingly new. Ivanova combines Couperin, Rameau, Duphly, and Royer with works by the Latvian composer Anita Mieze, born in 1980.