Richard Egarr

“the musical partnership is with the listener. From the elegant formality of the A major Suite to the quasi-orchestral flamboyance of the A minor, Egarr is good company. A remarkable cycle played with pungent physicality and generous wit.” The Independent on Sunday, 20th January 2013

“Egarr remains true here to the predominantly cantabile style of his previous Bach releases … he is an all the more eloquent guide for being a relatively unshowy one, his continuous supple rubato aptly realizing Bach’s harmonic twists without resort to undue histrionics. This is yet another fine release from one of the most consistently stimulating keyboard artists recording today.” International Record Review, February 2013

“Egarr opens No. 1 like a lutenist improvising, flexing his fingers and checking his tuning, before embarking on a thoughtful stream of deliberate quavers...The dances are full of imaginative touches...Egarr's ornaments have a delightfully improvised quality...Egarr displays an extraordinary tonal range, from harp-like resonance to transparency. The best harpsichord recital of these Suites on disc.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 *****

“Egarr's tempi can be recommended as canonical to students of this music...as Egarr's traversal of all six suites unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that his approach isn't about self denial or lack of ideas...for listeners struggling to find what they most admire in Egarr's playing in the somewhat muted earlier movements, the advice is simple: hold on, it will all make sense.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2013

“AAM's vocal consort is distinctly hoary but the instrumental playing – of two Fantasy-suites for violins, bass viol and organ, and a flamboyant selection of Organ Voluntaries – is divine.” The Independent on Sunday, 15th July 2012

“We owe Egarr our thanks for this sampler – a selection of gently expressive choral anthems, organ works and instrumental fantasias that establish him as a far-from-negligible precursor of Blow and Purcell.” Financial Times, 27th July 2012 ***

“This Academy of Ancient Music selection...is a personal crusade by Richard Egarr and shows what we’ve been missing: harmonic twists and word-painting almost as daring as Gesualdo’s; lilting refrains that suggest Monteverdi; quicksilver mood changes...the string music is deftly and expressively played.” The Times, 28th July 2012 ****

“The instrumental pieces are wonderfully imaginative, but it's the choral works that stand out with their startling modulations and expressively charged vocal lines.” The Guardian, 26th July 2012 ****

“Perhaps the most distinctive of all is the keyboard music...And it's here also that Egarr's musicianship is at its most compelling...the choir and vocalists give the impression of being a pick-up ensemble that hasn't quite gelled...Don't let that put you off, however: the monographic approach tends to expose composers of lesser substance but Gibbons junior passes the test admirably.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“Egarr has put together a rather charming musical portrait of Gibbons junior...with Frescobaldian flair, Egarr makes the most of the four substantial pieces he plays here...A chip off the old block, certainly, and no mere splinter either. A real discovery and an exceptionally rewarding recording.” International Record Review, September 2012

“Egarr explores the poetic content of the music with unhurried tempos, generous punctuation and eloquently shaped phrasing...[his] rhythmic elasticity heightens Bach's conversational dimension, welcoming us to the dialogue.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2010 ****

“The C sharp minor Fugue's rounded-off phrases and breath pauses...convey a convincing, vocally-informed continuity, while sensitive accentuations and an uncommonly brisk basic tempo keep you guessing just where the barlines fall in the G sharp minor Fugue.” Gramophone Magazine, September 2010

“Anyone familiar with Richard Egarr's perky, exuberantly-ornamented take on Handel's Op. 4 concertos will know what to expect from this sequel. …the Academy of Ancient Music are intimate conversationalists, alert to every nuance of Egarr's abiding wit and pungent repartee. The chamber organ, (housed in Handel's Parish Church), is quite magnificent, vividly captured in Harmonia Mundi's SACD, and wonderfully exploited by Egarr's highly fertile imagination...” BBC Music Magazine, October 2009 ****

“The rich-sounding AAM forces comprise 18 players, including oboes and bassoons; both their playing and Egarr's solo contributions are of an impeccably high order. …Egarr takes a bold, improvisatory approach to the concertos. The allegro movements are enlivened by rapid keyboard flourishes, liberal ornamentation...and delightful variants to the basic printed rhythms in the manner of French Baroque composers.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2009

“These are virtuoso performances of some quite extraordinary music. Each sonata has its own descriptive subtitle and a movement layout which seems reluctant to conform to any set pattern. Presumably the sections have their own tempo indications, though these aren't disclosed either in the booklet or in the listing on the reverse side of the box. A pity, since there are lots of interesting and unusual juxtapositions of a strikingly nonconformist nature. Much of the writing is characterised by virtuoso figurations which, especially in faster movements, might become a little wearisome in the hands of a lesser player. But Manze seems to sense this danger and averts it with panache and a highly developed sense of fantasy. Slow movements, on balance, are more interesting. There's an especially memorable one in La Clemente, the fifth sonata of Op 3, with a pathos-laden aria-like character. Manze plays it sensitively and the result is touching. Several movements have a strong ostinato element and, in La Monella Romanesca, the third piece from Op 4, we have a set of variations on a melody contained in the bass.
Harpsichordist Richard Egarr is a lively and an imaginative accompanist throughout. In short, an exhilarating recital of music whose exoticism, melancholy and wild, passionate outbursts resist categorisation and convenient definition.
Strongly recommended.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Minus bowed bass, Egarr's harpsichord accompaniment is free and expressive. The soloists slide easily from austerity to opulence, and Brown's dewy-toned recorder is enchanting.” The Independent on Sunday, 7th June 2009

“The soloists here are stylish and imaginative. Decorations are a delight in slow movements; the Adagio from No. 8 (oboe) is positively dripping with them. The playing is highly expressive… Highly commended as both the complete Op. 1 package and as deeply satisfying performances.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 *****

“…the playing of the three principles of the Academy of Ancient Music sparkles, charms and soothes.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2009

“While Manze draws spirited playing from his ensemble, it's Egarr's intimately dramatic approach that really makes these discs special.” The Independent *****

“The playing is ravishing in the chamber-music slow-movement textures. …a recording you must hear, if only to hear how the boundaries of these extraordinary concertos can be stretched.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2009 ****

“Though there are already CD versions of the Brandenburg Concertos to suit every taste, Richard Egarr's recordings still manage to carve out a distinctive niche of their own. Anyone with perfect pitch will soon notice that the concertos are delivered at a pitch significantly lower even than the baroque pitch often used for period-instrument performances: the Academy of Ancient Music tunes to A=392 Hz, effectively a whole tone lower than modern concert pitch, which enables them to use the French-model wind instruments that were widely played in Germany in Bach's time, and with just one instrument to a part throughout the orchestra, the textures have a warm, chamber-style intensity. The stratospherically high trumpet part in the second concerto loses all its glare (though the recorder in the same concerto gets swamped), while the solo violin in the fourth and fifth concertos can weave its delicate tracery with perfect naturalness. Though Egarr adds a guitar and theorbo to the continuo, the harmony still lacks definition, while the sheer loving detail of the performances sometimes blunts their edge.” The Guardian, 6th March 2009 ***

“…it is noticeable that these performances have moved away from the clipped articulate gestures of recent decades to embrace something of the older tradition of shapely long lines and smooth phrases. It gives the music an easy feel, relaxed and friendly as befits its chamber status...” Gramophone Magazine, June 2009

“I can’t recommend them highly enough. I’ve listened to the Boston Baroque/Marin Pearlman collaboration as well as the famous Marriner/Academy recordings. They don’t hold a candle to the finesse and flavor of the Egarr set … This set of concertos has moved to the head of the class and I wouldn’t want to be without it. Extremely infectious music, most highly recommended.” Hi-Fi News, September 2012