“One of the great interpreters of J. S. Bach,” was the New York Times’ description of the German organist and harpsichordist Helmut Walcha (1907-1991). His “intuitive grasp of the composer’s mind and intentions” was noted by The Guardian, while Gramophone judged that “his coherence and inner logic as a Bach interpreter remain unsurpassed.” Walcha’s recordings of Bach’s major solo keyboard works, performed on the harpsichord, are gathered together in this superb 13-CD collection.

This 6-CD set present the complete keyboard music (organ and harpsichord) of Holland’s most famous composer: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck.

John Paul makes the first ever recording of the complete Well Tempered Clavier, performed on Lautenwerck. The Lautenwerck, or lute harpsichord, is similar to a harpsichord, but it has gut strings, and this has a far more mellow sound. Bach himself owned a lautenwerck, and was very fond of the instrument. Bach's keyboard works were not written strictly for the harpsichord. He would doubtless have seen performance on The Well Tempered Clavier on the lautenwerck as being completely appropriate.

New York Times - "…The [Pièces de Clavecin - Book I] has all the energy and bright self-advertisement of a composer in his early 20's….The [Book II] represents a composer of solo music at his most inventive….Mr. Haas is very good indeed…"

Two years after releasing her CD dedicated to Book I of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Céline Frisch now presents the second volume of this musical landmark. Bach compiled Book II in 1744, twenty-two years after Book I. It took until 1801 for both volumes to be printed: from then until the present day they have inspired countless composers. After a series of recordings with the Ensemble Zimmermann, an ensemble she cofounded with Pablo Valetti, Céline Frisch returns to her very favourite music, the harpsichord recital. Through these preludes and fugues, she reminds us that far from being technical exercises, the Well- Tempered Clavier is a work of pure pleasure and constant renewed discovery.

After the success of her Goldberg Variations and a disc devoted to Rameau’s harpsichord pieces, Céline Frisch, harpsichordist and co-founder of the Café Zimmermann ensemble, returns to the recital with a programme devoted entirely to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. For this recording, Céline Frisch draws on her ‘bedside’ music. She thus reminds us that, beyond an exercise for advancing his technique (and we are well familiar with Bach’s strictness in this art), The Well-Tempered Clavier is also a work of pure pleasure, like a constant rediscovery: a landscape that one never tires of admiring.

‘A thoughtful, well-recorded performance of one of the great monuments of Western music, on an instrument for which the composer conceived it, played by a dexterous, sympathetic, and well-informed musician.’ – FANFARE
‘This set shines revitalizing light on music we may have thought we knew inside out, but which is always loaded with surprises.’ – SOUND STAGE

We sometimes forget how closely the didactic aspect of The Well-Tempered Clavier is bound up with the various upheavals of the 1720s which refocused Johann Sebastian Bach on his roles as father and teacher. His ambitious scheme for associating a prelude and a fugue with each of the major and minor keys could easily have become something of a tedious chore. But, on the contrary, it reveals Bach’s highly personal genius for constant creative renewal within the framework of two fixed forms. Richard Egarr presents the complete First Book on a copy by Joel Katzman of a 1638 Ruckers, using the temperament which recent research suggests Bach himself advocated.

Charles Dieupart’s harpsichord “Suittes” published in 1701 represent the first time a keyboard suite was treated as a form in itself, uniformly structured with a set number of movements, all opening with a designated “overture”. Though they were highly esteemed throughout the 18th century (Bach used the gigue of the second suite for the opening movement of his first English Suite) and continue to receive excellent recordings today, listening reveals that their historical importance far outweighs their musical interest. While certainly a consummate technician, Dieupart lacked the style and originality that other more gifted composers (Rameau, the Couperins, Froberger, Handel, Bach) brought to the dances of their suites. If ever a quintessential musical example were needed to demonstrate that whoever has the first word doesn’t necessarily make the most difference, this is it.

The transcription and arrangement of musical works was common practice in the 18th century. Such illustrious musicians as François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau left remarkable "manners" and examples of transcriptions for one or two harpsichords. In his preface to L'Apothéose de Lulli, published in 1725, François Couperin explains how his music for two dessus (treble parts) and bass can be played on two harpsichords: "I perform them very successfully with my family and pupils with the first dessus and the bass played on one harpsichord, and the second dessus and the same bass-line on another, in unison."

Don't take the album title too literally; it is drawn from that of BWV989 and is the focus of neither the programme nor the annotation. The language used in Bach's original titles overall (or individual movements) is usually an indication of the 'national' style he had in mind, here sorting most of the Italian from the French, but the title of BWV992 is given primarily in French and the Italian original is omitted, whilst that of the final movement appears only as a translation. A few literals have escaped the proof-reader's eye, of which I urge you not to believe the words on the back of the jewel-case: 'The disc, compromising works for keyboard … '.

Frédérick Haas possède une connaissance approfondie de la facture des instruments, et des secrets de leurs réglages. C’est cela qui lui permet ce dialogue si intime avec l’instrument. Car le clavecin de Haas est tout sauf métallique. Sous ses doigts d’une précision jamais répétitive, l’écriture ciselée et fort ornementée de D’Anglebert résonne avec l’amplitude de l’orchestre lullyste, tandis que le claveciniste nous submerge de couleur. Peut-on vraiment croire que l’intégralité du programme a été enregistré sur ce clavecin Henri Hemsch de 1751 tant l’artiste parvient à tirer de sonorités différentes de cet assemblage savant? A la manière d’un peintre, Haas sculpte chaque pièce comme un petit chef-d’œuvre.

The second instalment of the complete keyboard works by Johann Wilhelm Hässler. Johann Wilhem Hässler lived from 1742 to 1822, the transition of the Baroque to the Classical era. His style embraces the Empfindsamkeit initiated by W.F. Bach and C.Ph.E. Bach and the heritage of J.S.Bach. These different idioms perfectly coexist to create his complex language, however, Hässler progressively abandoned the baroque heritage to develop a more modern style embracing a more classical aesthetic. The works on these 4 CD`s clearly mark the stylistic development of Hässler, from Baroque polyphony and counterpoint to the graceful classical language in Haydn style.

The Venetian poet Antonio Conti received from Marcello the commission for a dramatic text that allows a quick succession of events, rather than the usual succession of recitative and arias.
Cassandra plunges us into Homer’s Trojan War, with its namesake prophetess who has the gift of predicting the future, but whom no one believes. The many [25] extant copies of this cantata, here given its world première recording, testify to the impact it had in its own time.

Wounderfull recording by Paola Erdas of the Intavolatura of Valente, first music book exclusively dedicated to harpsichord, played on two XVIth century Napolitan instrument of an extraordinary beauty.