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Home , Dieterich Buxtehude, Domenico Scarlatti, F minor, Harpsichord concerto, Henry Purcell, Lars Ulrik Mortensen

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CHRISTOPHER BEST LOVED D. LEWIS © Drew Kelly Photography 8.578184 classical harpsichord music Handsome Harpsichord Best loved classical harpsichord music

1 (1685–1759) 8 (1685–1757) Keyboard Suite in B flat major, 4:11 Keyboard in minor, K.466/ 6:50 HWV 434 – III. con variazioni L.118/P.501 – Andante Alan Cuckston (8.550416) Laurence Cummings (8.554724)

2 (1685–1750) 9 George Frideric HANDEL , BWV 988 – 2:37 Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E major, 4:36 Aria da capo HWV 430 – IV. Air and Variations Wolfgang Rübsam (8.573921) (‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’) Alan Cuckston (8.550415) 3 Jean-Philippe RAMEAU (1683–1764) Nouvelles suites de Pieces de clavecin – 3:38 10 Louis COUPERIN (. 1626–1661) Suite in A minor-major – L’Enharmonique Suite in A minor – V. La Piemontoise 1:53 (‘The ’) Laurence Cummings (8.550922) Alan Cuckston (8.550463) 11 (1729–1783) 4 François COUPERIN (1668–1733) Harpsichord Sonata No. 48 in 3:28 Pieces de clavecin, Book 1 – 1:46 Gilbert Rowland (8.555031) 1st Ordere in -major – La Milordine 12 Laurence Cummings (8.550961) (1659–1695) Round O, Z. 684, ‘’ 1:30 5 William BYRD (1540–1623) Terence R. Charlston (8.553982) Ut re mi fa sol la in 4:32 13 Glen Wilson (8.572433) Johann Sebastian BACH in the Italian Style, BWV 971, 4:05 6 (1637–1707) ‘’ – I. Allegro Suite in G minor, BuxWV 242 – IV. 1:22 Laurence Cummings (8.554724) (8.570580) 14 (1672–1745) 7 Johann Sebastian BACH Suite No. 4 in G minor – V. La Sainscy 3:59 Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, 1:36 Luc Beauséjour (8.553717) BWV 846-869 – No. 2 in C minor, 15 BWV 847 (1710–1784) Luc Beauséjour (8.557625-26, DISC 1) Fantasia in , Fk.19 6:59 Julia Brown (8.570530)

8.578184 2 23 Seixas: Keyboard Sonata No. 24 in D minor José António Carlos de Seixas was one of the foremost in 18th-century 16 Domenico SCARLATTI 20 (1899–1963) and was soon recruited to the Keyboard Sonata in , K.119/ 6:04 Suite francaise, FP 80 – VII. Carillon 1:52 in where he would L.415/P.217 – Allegro Christopher D. Lewis (8.573364) Laurence Cummings (8.554724) meet Domenico Scarlatti. Though Seixas’s 21 George Frideric HANDEL total output is thought to have numbered 17 Jean-Philippe RAMEAU Keyboard Suite No. 7 in G minor, 3:30 Nouvelles suites de Pieces de clavecin – 2:06 HWV 432 – II. Andante some seven hundred , all but about Suite in G major-minor – VI. Les Sauvages Alan Cuckston (8.550416) one hundred were lost in a devastating Gilbert Rowland (8.553048) 22 earthquake in 1755. The D minor Sonata Johann Sebastian BACH 18 Johann Sebastian BACH Harpsichord Concerto in , 2:51 is a rumbustious affair, with octaves in the Harpsichord Concerto in G minor, 3:41 BWV 1056 – II. Largo left hand accompanying furiously driving BWV 1058 – III. Allegro assai Harald Hoeren (harpsichord) semiquaver broken chords and scales. Gerald Hambitzer (harpsichord) Cologne Chamber Cologne Chamber Orchestra Helmut Mueller-Bruehl (conductor) (8.554604) Helmut Mueller-Bruehl (8.554605) Peter Siepmann 23 José António Carlos de SEIXAS (1704–1742) © Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd 19 Jean-Philippe RAMEAU Keyboard Sonata No. 24 in D minor 1:57 Pieces de Clavecin – 1:08 Debora Halász (8.557459) Suite in E minor-major – IX. Tambourin Gilbert Rowland (8.553047)

Total Timing: 77:06

8.578184 10 3 8.578184 Handsome Harpsichord 18 J.S. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in G minor, showing through particularly in his Best loved classical harpsichord music BWV 1058 – III. Allegro assai approach to harmony and dissonance. One of Bach’s many responsibilities in The Suite was written to serve as incidental Sir Thomas Beecham’s characteristically pluck the string again) and a small piece of felt Leipzig entailed directing the Collegium music for the play La Reine Margot. provocative observation that the sound of the returns to rest on the string, damping the sound. Musicum in its series of public concerts. Originally scored for , , harpsichord was like ‘two skeletons copulating usually have a range of four to The G minor Harpsichord Concerto was trumpets, trombones, percussion and on a tin roof in a thunderstorm’, didn’t do much five octaves, and they may have one or two written for one such occasion, and is an harpsichord, the himself arranged to help the instrument’s reputation in a world of manuals (keyboards), each of which control one adaptation of his earlier Concerto the suite for solo , but given the listeners firmly accustomed to hearing or more sets of strings – typically one or two sets (in A minor). This rollicking gigue is the work’s background, performance on the keyboard works played on the piano. playing at written pitch, with some instruments conclusion of the Concerto. harpsichord is both appropriate and effective! The physical differences between a modern providing another set that sounds an octave piano and a harpsichord are mirrored by higher for added brilliance. These different sets 19 Rameau: Pièces de clavecin – 21 Handel: Keyboard Suite No. 7 in G minor, differing techniques required by the player. With of strings will usually be brought in or out of Suite in E minor-major – IX. Tambourin HWV 432 – II. Andante little ability to sustain or for dynamic contrast, action by a small lever, knob or pedal. Some The Tambourin was a folk dance from the Also part of the 1720 publication, this lyrical harpsichords must be played with a particularly instruments may also include further innovations Provençal region particularly popular in Andante is the second of six movements. detailed approach to articulation and finger such as a so-called ‘buff stop’, bringing small the court of Louis XV. The music for this Its gently embellished melody above a technique, the players creating cantabile melodic pieces of felt into contact with the strings to give dance would usually combine a simple predominately single line accompaniment lines (when appropriate) with touch alone, and a softer, muted timbre. beat on a drum (tambour) accompanying shows Handel’s elegant mastery of two-part creating emphasis not by volume, but rather by Harpsichords are often tuned using a lively melody played on a pipe. Rameau . subtle management of the timing and length historical systems, many of which can sound represents the drum with repeated open of notes. The lack of sustaining power also particularly exotic to contemporary ears fifths at the beginning of almost every bar, 22 J.S. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in F minor, means that make considerable accustomed to equal temperament. This gives and the pipe-like nature of the melody with BWV 1056 – II. Largo use of ornamentation and arpeggiation (the a different ‘colour’ to every key, and opens up frequent decorative mordents. Whether or not this Concerto, like the G minor spreading of chords one note after another a whole new world of expression in the music. (track 18), is also a transcription of a lost violin rather than in a block). Indeed, the tuning of harpsichords is something 20 Poulenc: Suite française, FP 80 – (or perhaps ) concerto remains a point Each key of a harpsichord is connected close to every player’s heart: with an entirely VII. Carillon of scholarly contention, but it is certainly easy to a vertical wooden jack which itself houses wooden structure, the instruments are particularly Published in 1935, Poulenc’s Suite paid to imagine the lyrical, lullaby-like melody a small tongue and plectrum to pluck the string sensitive to atmospheric conditions, and players homage to the music of the 16th-century of this famous second movement on either when the key is depressed. When the key is will have to tune their instruments much more composer Claude Gervaise, but with instrument, singing out over the gentle released, the tongue hinges back (so as not to frequently than a piano demands. Harpsichords Poulenc’s unmistakable musical whimsy pizzicato string accompaniment.

8.578184 4 9 8.578184 adapts the form for solo harpsichord by improvisatory, -like passages with will often be tuned to Baroque pitch (A = 2 J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – exploiting the contrasting registers of a stricter fugal writing. 415Hz), though modern pitch (A = 440Hz) is Aria da capo two-manual instrument. Having made a also common; some instruments even offer a These famous variations form some of the careful study of the work of composers 16 Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in D major, choice by enabling the manuals to be shifted up most technically demanding harpsichord such as Vivaldi, Albinoni and Torelli, Bach K. 119/L. 415/P. 217 – Allegro or down as appropriate. music of the repertoire, and serve as the shows his mastery of the Italian mode of In contrast to the reflective F minor Though the level of tonal variety and nuance culmination of Bach’s monumental Clavier- composition, while never losing sight of his Sonata (track 8), this energetic – at times possible on the modern piano is unquestionably Übung, a collection of harpsichord and own inimitable style. almost wild – D major Sonata shows the greater than that of the harpsichord, there is organ works written between 1731 and percussive potential of the harpsichord with something undeniably special about hearing 1741. The theme on which these ingenious 14 Forqueray: Suite No. 4 in G minor – several instances of block chords featuring music on the instrument for which it was variations are based is a beautifully V. La Sainscy as many as eleven notes. A technically originally conceived. Indeed, since Beecham simple, -like melody. In this recording, Antoine Forqueray was a virtuoso da demanding piece, this sonata also includes uttered that memorable quote, the notion of it played on the rarely-encountered - gamba player who spent his career working passages of rapid repetition, brisk hand Historically Informed Performance Practice has harpsichord (‘’), an instrument as a musician in the court of Louis XIV, crossing and expansive arpeggio patterns. become an increasingly mainstream part of that uses gut rather than metal strings. initially alongside the great . musical life. When Jean-Baptiste Forqueray published 17 Rameau: Nouvelles suites de Pièces 3 Rameau: Nouvelles suites de Pièces his father’s selection of character pieces de clavecin – Suite in G major-minor – 1 Handel: Keyboard Suite in B flat major, de clavecin – Suite in A minor-major – for gamba and continuo, he also provided VI. Les Sauvages HWV 434 – III. Aria con variazioni L’Enharmonique (‘The Enharmonic’) adaptations for solo harpsichord, many with This piece originated as part of one of Among Handel’s various keyboard suites, Jean-Philippe Rameau ended his career as titles of dedication to specific people. Rameau’s many -ballets. In the fourth the B flat major is unusual in that it was the resident composer to King Louis XV. act of Les Indes Galantes (1735), the stage published without authorisation by the As well as a large corpus of more than 15 W.F. Bach: Fantasia in D minor, Fk. 19 is set for the ceremony of the Peace Pipe, composer. The third movement is a set 60 pieces for harpsichord, he was known Wilhelm Friedemann was J.S. Bach’s taking place in an American forest on the of five variations based on a theme that particularly for his and ballets. The eldest son, born in 1710. Admired as a border of the French and Spanish colonies. was also used some 130 years later by wistfully chromatic L’Enharmonique gets virtuoso and , his This stirring dance was inspired by a visit Brahms for his Variations and Fugue on its title from a significant moment just over style is a fascinating blend of the traditions made to Louis XV by a group of six Native a theme by Handel. Handel was a great halfway through the piece where the key he had learned from his father and his American chieftains who danced for the improviser, and these charming but not of the music changes such that C sharps own innovation. The dramatic, multi- king after pledging their allegiance. overly complicated variations are typical of become ‘re-spelt’ as D flats. sectioned Fantasias are a prime example the sort of extemporised performances for of this, with the D minor alternating which he was renowned.

8.578184 8 5 8.578184 4 F. Couperin: Pièces de clavecin, Book 1 – it is his organ music for which Buxtehude frequent descending three-note ‘sighs’ give 11 Soler: Harpsichord Sonata No. 48 1st Ordere in G minor-major – La Milordine is probably better known, his 18 keyboard a plaintively thoughtful character. in C minor Much like the Bach family, the Couperin suites show the more intimate, smaller-scale ‘Padre’ (for he was a priest and Jeronymite family was a renowned musical dynasty, end of his compositional style. 9 Handel: Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E major, monk) Antonio Soler was a Spanish but François was to be the greatest among HWV 430 – IV. Air and Variations Catalan composer writing in the mid-18th them, and is accordingly often given the 7 J.S. Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier, (‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’) century. Greatly influenced by the work of moniker ‘le Grand’. Working for much Book 1, BWV 846-869 – Fugue No. 2 This famous theme and variations featured Domenico Scarlatti (with whom he may of his life in the royal court, Couperin’s in C minor, BWV 847 in a set of eight keyboard suites published have studied), Soler wrote over a hundred harpsichord works are contained in four Bach’s two collections of and by Handel in 1720. The bright key of E keyboard sonatas, possibly as part of his books, divided into a sequence (or ‘ordre’) in every key stand major gives a particularly effervescent tuition of Don Gabriel, son of King Carlos of 27 suites. La Milordine is an energetic as one of the great milestones in the history quality to the music, with its simple harmony III. The C minor Sonata has an unrelenting gigue with a title that suggests a dedication of keyboard music. The C minor Fugue is and phrase structure giving the work an energy, with dramatic use of scales in to an unknown foreign nobleman. a perfect example of this complex form of immediate and straight-forward appeal. The octaves and some arresting harmonic twists which Bach became the undisputed master. source of the piece’s nickname is unknown, and turns along the way. 5 Byrd: Ut re mi fa sol la in F major The Fugue subject (theme) is passed around but probably attributable to a 19th century Byrd was the foremost musician of the the four voices in intricate counterpoint blacksmith turned music dealer in Bath. 12 Purcell: Round O, Z. 684, ‘Abdelazer’ Elizabethan era. Much of his innovative and in various keys, interspersed with Originally written for strings as incidental keyboard music was based on dances. sequential episodes. 10 L. Couperin: Suite in A minor – music for Aphra Behn’s play Abdelazer (or The title of this fantasia refers to the first V. La Piemontoise The Moor’s Revenge), this sprightly country six notes of the – a key theme 8 Scarlatti: Keyboard Sonata in F minor, Louis Couperin was uncle to the great dance is perhaps most recognisable today of the piece, though two folk are K. 466/L. 118/P. 501 – Andante François, and himself a skilled organist, as the theme used by in also interwoven into the texture: firstThe Domenico Scarlatti (the sixth son of harpsichordist and composer. The title of this his Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Woods so wild, and later The shaking of Alessandro) wrote over five hundred work refers to someone from the Piedmont ‘Round O’ is an anglicisation of the the sheets. keyboard sonatas, with the majority structured region of . Despite being one of the French ‘rondeau’ – a simple dance with a in a simple binary form (two sections, each most important European composers of his recurring refrain. 6 Buxtehude: Suite in G minor, BuxWV 242 – of which are repeated). Though Italian by time, none of Louis Couperin’s 122 works IV. Gigue birth, Scarlatti was heavily influenced by were published in his lifetime, but rather 13 J.S. Bach: Concerto in the Italian Style, Bach famously walked two hundred miles the music and traditions of where he exist in the Bauyn manuscript which dates BWV 971, ‘Italian Concerto’ – I. Allegro from Arnstadt to Lübeck to hear Dietrich spent much of his life working in the royal from around 1690 and is housed in the Though a concerto is usually a work Buxtehude play the organ, and although court. The key of F minor and this Sonata’s French National Library. for solo instrument and orchestra, Bach

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