Genevieve Soly

This CD features a selection of youthful works by Handel, most of which are taken from a manuscript housed at the Darmstadt library, known as the Darmstadt Harpsichord Book. Geneviève Soly is one of the central figures in baroque music in Quebec. Her recordings of Graupner’s music were hailed by critics and her exceptional work as a performer and musicologist has been unanimously acknowledged.

In 1722 Christoph Graupner published 12 harpsichord suites with the very Baroque title “ Fruit basket for each month, pieces for harpsichord.” The collection presented on this recording by the amazingly talented harpsichordist Genevieve Soly, are those pieces that extend from April through to July. Another excellent release in this ‘Graupner’ series.

The program on this recording covers nearly 35 years of Graupner’s creative output. It includes two works that have come down to us in original editions (from 1722 & 1733) and two in manuscript form, one of them autograph (c. 1750-1753), the other in the hand of Samuel Endler, Kapellmeister of the Darmstadt court (c. 1720). The titles, writes Graupner in his preface, have no pretension of being descriptive. The Four Partitas for the Harpsichord entitled The Four Seasons were published in Darmstadt in 1733 and engraved by Graupner himself. This was the last set of harpsichord pieces published by Graupner, who was aged 50 at the time. Unfortunately, only Winter, the first partita of the cycle, has come down to us.