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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Baroque Conversations
“When it comes to artful programming, David Greilsammer is a past master...Greilsammer can be infuriatingly self-conscious at times. But persevere: he's also an illuminating companion full of pellucid insights, studied elegance and, in the contemporary works, as compelling when negotiating nocturnal Feldman as he is viscerally persuasive conjuring up Porat's edgy verve.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 **** “Greilsammer assembles four 'mini-sets', each containing three works. The first and third pieces are by Baroque keyboard composers, while the second is by a late-20th- or earl 21st-century composer...Usually such programming ideas seem pretentious or sound forced but Greilsammer's stylistic juxtapositions mostly work...In all, a stimulating, outstandingly executed and superbly engineered programme.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Couperin - Tic Toc Choc & other pieces
"I wanted to focus this programme on the idea of play. Centring on Le Tic-Toc-Choc, which I often use as an encore, I gathered together Couperin's most 'pianistic' pieces, underlining the playful aspect… I have a particularly soft spot for Duphly's La Pothoïn, which for me is one of the loveliest pieces ever composed for keyboard. I think this music, written later than Couperin's, provides an ideal link between the harpsichord and the arrival of the fortepiano, which Duphly couldn't bring himself to adopt. All through these sessions, shut up in the immense hall at IRCAM, I thought of a number of artists who have long been part of my life and a source of inspiration for me, that whole family of pianists who handed this repertoire down to us: Louis Diémer, Marcelle Meyer, Robert Casadesus, Emil Gilels,Yvonne Lefébure, Pierre Barbizet . .They were omnipresent in my mind.This recording is my tribute to them." Alexandre Tharaud “…while Tharaud's ornamentation is impeccable and the piano well recorded, the collection as a whole is disappointingly monochrome.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2007 “Alexandre Tharaud's disc of Rameau keyboard works was a refreshing demonstration that French harpsichord music can be convincingly transferred to the piano, twiddles and all, if its essential character is respected and understood.
Now he attempts the seemingly tougher task of doing the same for the more delicate Couperin, and again emerges with honour. Reactions to a disc like this can only be personal, but Tharaud's unapologetically pianistic approach not only yields highly attractive results but also gets closer to Couperin's true spirit.
Mind you, he only chooses works that he considers suitable to the piano, selecting from right across Couperin's output rather than playing whole suites. Arguably, he gets it wrong only twice, in La visionnaire and the great B minor Passacaille, fulsome formal pieces both, whose grandeur the piano somehow manages to dull.
Yet for the most part the music sounds beautifully at home. Poetic wonders such as La museplantine, Les ombres errantes and the iconic Lesbaricades mistérieuses are played with tender sensitivity of mind and touch, while Le carillon deCithére is a glistening vision of a Watteauesque paradise. Elsewhere, Le tic-toc-choc and Les toursde passe-passe are enlivened by off-beat accents, Bruit de guerre thrills with its added drum part, and Muséte de taverni, multi-tracked into a work à 5 mains, rattles away like some delicious missing movement from L'arlésienne. Tharaud closes with a piece by Duphly, relishing its dark melancholy and, not for the first time on this disc, evoking another great keyboard poet, Robert Schumann. This is a release which successfully recognises and celebrates Couperin's genius, and you cannot ask for much more than that.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “Reactions to a disc like this can only be personal, but mine are that, compared to the more "correct" but less colourful Angela Hewitt… Tharaud's unapologetically pianistic approach not only yields highly attractive results but also gets closer to the Couperin's true spirit. Poetic wonders such as La muse plantine, Les ombres errantes and the iconic Les baricades mistérieuses are played with tender sensitivity of mind and touch, while Le carillon de Cithére is a glistening vision of a Watteauesque paradise. Tharaud closes with a piece by Duphly, relishing its dark melancholy and, not for the first time on this disc, evoking another great keyboard poet, Robert Schumann.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2007 “If you doubt that a concert grand can be as sparkling as a harpsichord listen to Akexandre Tharaud and his selection of 20 Couperin jewels. Try his way with Le Carillon de Clithére and you will never want to hear a
harpsichord again. Sleek presentation, clever sleeve notes and high-end sound make this the most beautifully packaged of all the collected releases here.” Pianist Magazine, June-July 2007 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | François Couperin: Les Ombres Errantes
Grave, agile, majestic, picturesque, the keyboard output of François Couperin, with its array of indispensable ornaments and piquant details, enables us to follow all the impulses of the soul of 'the most poetic of our harpsichord composers', as Debussy called him. Performed here on the piano, which its own special colour, these harpsichord pieces, in their various moods, retain al their inimitable charm. | 
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| |  | The Trinity Hall Harpsichordby Andrew Garlick, after Gaujon - 1748
Bach, J S: | Toccata in D minor, BWV913 Prelude & Fugue Book 1 No. 4 in C sharp minor, BWV849 Italian Concerto, BWV971 | Böhm, G: | Partita-Choral | Couperin, F: | Pièces de clavecin II: Ordre 6ème in B flat: Les baricades mistérieuses | Greene, M: | Aria con variationi in A | Handel: | Keyboard Suite, HWV 432 in G minor | Purcell: | A New Ground in E minor, Z. T682 Ground in C minor, Zt 681 (from Ye Tuneful Muses) Ground in Gamut |
Andrew Arthur (harpsichord) It is unusual for Priory to record harpsichord music, but this outstanding instrument by Andrew Garlick, as played by Andrew Arthur, makes for a terrific recital from Trinity Hall. “This celebrates a newly-commissioned instrument modelled on a fine French original. Its versality is demonstrated in a mixed bag of composers, stylishly played and intimately recorded.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2012 **** | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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| |  | Couperin: Portrait d'IrisSuites pour viole de gambe et pièces de clavecin
Emmanuelle Guigues (viol) & Bruno Procopio (harpsichord) “...the 2nd Suite de Viole...has a stately solemnity until the final movement "La Chemise Blanche" profits from the sprightly harpsichord. The solo harpsichord Pièces de Clavecin likewise proceeds in orderly fashion through movements of 1st, 2nd and 5th order, culminating in the satisfying 6th order rondo "Les Baricades Mysterieuses".” The Independent, 2nd July 2010 *** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Chaconnes
The repertoire for the modern guitar dates only as far back as the early 19th century, with the composers Guiliani and Sor. Before that, although many pieces of music were arranged for this most domesticated of instruments, none has survived. This CD contains two of the great masterpieces of Baroque instrumental music – the Chaconne from J.S. Bach’s D minor Partita for solo violin BWV1004, and Handel’s keyboard Chaconne. The polyphonic quality of the modern guitar enables arrangers to transcribe music for plucked instruments such as the lute or harpsichord. The aim of this CD is to widen the repertoire of the classical guitar with some beautiful Baroque masterpieces. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Couperin - Piéces de Clavecin
French harpsichordist Olivier Baumont has distinguished himself as a performer and scholar, specializing in French Baroque repertoire. He took up the harpsichord without learning piano first, sharing his family's love for French history of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He studied with Kenneth Gilbert and Huguette Dreyfus and worked with Gustav Leonhardt in his master classes in Cologne. He was awarded first prize in harpsichord (1981) and in chamber music (1982) at the Paris Conservatory and won the Concours de Solistes de Radio France in 1982. He frequently performs at music festivals in Europe, England, and the United States, and has toured widely. Since 1992, he has directed the Festival Couperin at Chaumes-en-Brie. In September, 2001, Baumont became professor of harpsichord at the Paris Conservatory. He is the author of a biography of François Couperin, has edited harpsichord works by Michel Corrette and Jacques Duphly, and has contributed scholarly articles to numerous musicological journals. “Selected harpsichord pieces from four collections played on no less than nine different harpsichords. Stylishly played, though sound is rather dry.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 **** | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Les Baricades Misterieuses - Chaconnes for Lute
Paris in the early 18th century was shaking off the strict regime of the Sun King Louis XIV. All of the moral codes and laws associated with the latter years of his reign were cast aside, much to the joy of Parisians – especially the artistic fraternity. Artists from all over Europe flocked to the city to take advantage of the new easy going regime of the regent Duke of Orleans – the heir, Louis XV being too young to rule. The ‘French School’ of music flourished, and the leading light among composers was Francois Couperin, the newly appointed harpsichordist to the Royal Chamber. One of the works composed at this time was his ‘Second Book for the Harpsichord’. It included a rondowith the enigmatic title ‘Les Baricades Misterieuses’, based closely on a lute piece by Ennemond Gaultier ‘La Cascade’. The inclusion of both works on this CD neatly illustrates the close bond between lutenists and harpsichordists in the baroque period. Both instruments are plucked, and the great harpsichord composers were always aware of the great legacy of the lute, both in terms of its repertoire and the inspiration they could acquire from its practitioners. Enter the Silesian Silvius Weiss, friend of JS Bach, and the greatest lutenist of all time. His works on this CD pay a direct homage to Couperin. The title ‘Les Barricades Mistérieuses’ refers to the ‘mystery’ of wooing a girl. The fluttering of her eyelashes – eyelashes being the barricades, which protect the windows of the soul, or, depending on if the wooer was lucky or not in the art of love, the treacherous mirrors that are the eyes! New recording made in 2007 Extensive booklet notes Serdoura is an acknowledged expert on the baroque lute and has written a major treatise on the instrument. ‘Miguel Serdoura is a passionate and intelligent musician who deserves to be heard in the world’ Lutenist Hopkinson Smith “Wunderlich's Dichterliebe is impassioned and intensely present, coupled with outstanding Beethoven and Schubert performances.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Debussy, Couperin & Roussel - Works For Piano
Following the death of Yvonne Lefébure (1986) the contents of this disc, of which Book 1 of Debussy’s preludes form the essential part, were released on the Vogue label. A few years later an English label, Coup d’Archet issued the same programme on LP! Recently however it has been discovered, purely by chance, that Yvonne Lefébure had in fact bequeathed all her recording rights to the Solstice label! So at last Solstice is able to release this fine recording that completes a comprehensive survey of her recordings, which without doubt, constitutes a first rate piano legacy. | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | A Century of Domestic Keyboards
Bach, J S: | Prelude No. 5 in E major, BWV933 Prelude No. 6 in E minor, BWV933 | Byrd: | Pavana "The Earle of Salisbury" | Couperin, F: | Pièces de clavecin II: Ordre 6ème in B flat: Les baricades mistérieuses Pièces de clavecin III: Ordre 13ème in B minor: Les folies Françaises, ou Les dominos | Handel: | Fantaisie in C major, HWV490 Toccata in G minor, HWV 586 Harpsichord Sonata in G minor | Mendelssohn: | Two Venetian Gondola Songs Song without Words, Op. 38 No. 6 in A flat major 'Duetto' Albumblatt in E minor, Op. 117 Wie die Zeit läuft! | Mozart: | Adagio in B minor, K540 | Schubert: | Hungarian Melody in B minor D817 16 German Dances D783 (selection) | Soler, A: | Keyboard Sonata No. 84 in D major |
“There is no denying the pleasure of experiencing the music of Mozart, Handel and Schubert in a domestic setting and as it would have been heard in the instruments of the day. Joanna Leach's playing is intimate, stylish and pleasantly unassuming” Gramophone Magazine “The recording is beautifully judged throughout, very close and capturing the finest of nuances. Leach's performances are first-rate, stylish and alert, with impeccably pointed ornaments. The booklet notes by Andrew Lancaster are very informative, complemented by colour photographs of each instrument. Highly recommended: domestic instruments they may be, but they are of a quality and character which is remarkable to hear.” International Record Review “Joanna Leach is an excellent artist... the instruments presented here are very interesting and not easily available on disc. They shed light on a virtually ignored aspect of music-making in the 18th and 19th centuries.” MusicWeb International | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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