Once again, Andrew Lawrence-King pluckily ventures into the realm of the plucked unknown and the result is more than 72 minutes of unalloyed triple harp delight. Not to be confused with a triple play or a triple cream, the triple harp enjoyed a repertoire identical to that of the lute and harpsichord. It is a lovely if retiring instrument which starts to come into its considerable own if you are willing to crank up the volume on Harmonia Mundi’s surprisingly sensational recording (made in St. Andrews Church on the spectacular grounds of Toddington Manor in beautiful South West England).
The precise contents of Lawrence-King’s recital consist of music by Lully preserved in Feuillet’s famous Chorégraphie (Paris, 1700), referred to by the artist as “the first Baroque dance-book,” preludes by d’Anglebert and overtures and dances by Lully and Campra in settings by d’Anglebert. By and large, the music is an irresistible stream of flamboyant and colorful delight, if in an almost incongruously intimate way (as you might expect from a triple harp). You can almost hear the dancing masters whispering cautions such as “Point those toes!”
The presentation, rich with with illustrations (many of them in color), is quite gorgeous. The notes themselves, however, could use a bit of goosing up. Unless you are an academic with a taste for the mot just, you may find Lawrence-King’s notes, though they are certainly authoritative, and even absorbing in their way, a bit dry and humorless.
– Laurence Vittes
