French Harpsichord Music

Emboldened by her experience of playing the 6 Sets of Lessons by Richard Jones, already released on Glossa, and chancing upon another book of music which included violin sonatas by Jones, Mitzi Meyerson resolved to champion further this forgotten musical figure from the first half of the 18th century in England, in a manner comparable to her earlier defence of Muffat and Balbastre.

Although now faded into obscurity, Jacques Duphly was one of the most prominent French harpsichordists of his time, famed for his excellent teaching skills and known for his enviable connections with the French aristocracy. His keyboard works are a veritable treasure trove of music for harpsichord lovers; despite having been an organist in his youth, he soon realised that his talents lay with the smaller keyboard instrument, and he moved from Rouen to Paris to make best use of his skills.

Tilman Skowroneck writes: This recording was initiated by Bengt Nassen, the owner of the harpsichord by Martin Skowroneck (1926-2014) that is featured here. Initially, I was planning to play music by Bach and Handel on this German instrument, which is based on early eighteenth-century models, but after acquainting myself with the instruments possibilities, I was led in a different direction. Its sound is located somewhere between Italian brilliance and a more intimate vocal character. Some French builders of the seventeenth century made instruments whose characteristics were quite similar, even though they arrived at these results by different constructions. And so the idea was born to use this sound to retrace the connections between the Italian and French sound worlds of the late seventeenth century.

For all the celebrations to mark the tercentenary of Purcell’s death last year (1995), his keyboard music has remained very much in the shadow of his works for the theatre and Church; yet the simplicity and grace of these more intimate pieces make them immediately appealing. Several of them are, in fact, transcriptions of earlier vocal works, and therein lies the key to their interpretation. Of the two performers, Olivier Baumont is the more flamboyant, invariably choosing faster tempi than Sophie Yates, and playing with fluidity, panache and humour. But Yates’s guileless approach really captures the music’s ingenuousness, even if she occasionally sounds a little too strait-laced. Her harpsichord (a copy by Andrew Garlich of an instrument made in 1681 by Jean-Antoine Vaudry, now in London’s Victoria & Albert Museum) could hardly be better suited to the music, with its sweet, warm sound, beautifully reproduced by the Chandos engineers, who don’t make the all too frequent mistake of recording the instrument too close. Baumont’s harpsichord has a sharper tang, and he also uses a virginals for the Grounds and individual lessons. Both artists have much to offer, and the final choice will depend on whether you prefer your Purcell plain (Yates) or piquant (Baumont).

Louis Couperin - Complete Works for Harpsichord - Karen Flint (2020) {Plectra Music}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download -> 2.02 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 777 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 33 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2020 Plectra Music | PL21703
Classical / Baroque / Harpsichord

The complete works for harpsichord by Louis Couperin (c. 1626 - 1661). The four-disc set features all the known works by L. Couperin performed by Karen Flint on two antique harpsichords from the Flint Collection by Ioannes Ruckers (1627 & 1635). Booklet notes by Davitt Moroney in English and French.

Nicolas Lebègue & Jacques Hardel - Complete Works for Harpsichord - Karen Flint (2014) {Plectra Music}
FLAC (tracks) - 16bit/44.1kHz - Official Digital Download -> 1.33 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 525 Mb
Full Artwork (jpg+pdf) -> 29 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 2014 Plectra Music | PL21401
Classical / Baroque / Harpsichord

This three-CD set includes the complete works for harpsichord by Nicolas Lebègue (1631-1702) and Jacques Hardel (1643-1678) performed by Karen Flint on the 1627 & 1635 Ioannes Ruckers harpsichords. French Baroque rarities delight in this substantial recital. I must admit I wasn t familiar with the composers on this disc, but they re both discoveries that I m happy to have made. Performing here on two magnificent Ruckers keyboards from the early 17th century, Karen Flint plays these French Baroque works with an exquisitely light touch, presenting Lebègue and Hardel s dances in the best possible way. The complete harpsichord works of Lebègue consist of his 1677 Les Pièces de Clavessin, and the 1687 Second Livre de Clavessin. Notably, it s in the earlier collection that the very first unmeasured preludes (a form of prelude where each note s duration is at the performer s discretion) are contained.

My Bach Partitas: I got to know Johann Sebastian Bach before I started playing, with the Motets on an LP disc that I wore out listening to, and with a short passage from the St Matthew Passion that I sang while my father accompanied me on the piano. Bach has always been present in my musical life and has been the safe harbour from which I have departed to discover other routes and then return regularly.

When contemplating the baroque period in French music in connection with the flute, it would probably be names such as Hotteterre, Blavet or Mondonville which would first come to mind. Joseph Bodin de Boismortier was something of a mass-market composer whose many works served as much to earn his keep as to supply the amateur music market with fairly playable pieces. But his six sonatas (opus 91), although in many ways conventional, do require some very good playing from both performers and are distinguished by having the harpsichord part fully notated.