ordre Archive

FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz & Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics

by Audiophile Audition | Sep 28, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Two volumes covering two-harpsichord Francois Couperin material. FRANCOIS COUPERIN: Music for Two Harpsichords Vol 1 & 2 – [TrackList follows] – Jochewed Schwarz and Emer Buckley – Toccata Classics TOCC 0203 & 0258, 62:21, 66:03 ****: Fr. Couperin published two set of chamber works, Concerts Royaux and Les Nations, scored so that they could be performed by whatever instruments were at hand (as many composers did at the time). But the composer said he himself preferred to perform them on two harpsichords. These two albums use selected movements from both works, and in the first volume three short pieces from his Pieces de Clavecin, in the second and third books. These are strong and vital-sounding performances from both ladies (Schwarz is Israeli and Buckley is Irish), and the series of movements from the Quatrime Ordre of Les Nations amounts to over 22 minutes long. A later series from the Second Ordre totals 29 minutes. Many of these selections are first recordings of these works. And also are very well-recorded. They both play von Nagel harpsichords, the recordings were made in his workshop in Paris and Ms. Schwarz was also the producer. The double-manual instruments are based on 18th-century French originals […]