Jean –Philippe Rameau: Pieces de Clavecin
Steven Devine, harpsichord
RESONUS RES 10131 79’27
Steven Devine is playing a modern reproduction by Ian Tucker of a double-manual harpsichord by Andreas Ruckers of Amsterdam made in 1636. The three Suites recorded here range from the early 1706 Suite in A minor which is strict in its approach to classical style if not overly severe, to the 1724 Suite in D where the movements have programmatic titles.
Steven Devine’s approach is muscular and the sound large and often bold.
Ciaccona: works for harpsichord
Guillermo Brachetta, harpsichord
RESONUS RES 10126 64’28
This is Guillermo Brachetta’s first solo album though he is already familiar from his work with Fantasticus. There is a wide range of works here, including Chaconne’s by Storace, Blow, Bach and Couperin. Such is the vigour of the chaconne as a musical structure that there is no sense of the recording palling with repetition – every work is a delight in itself.
Daniel Purcell: The Judgement of Paris
Spiritato & the Rodolfus Choir, Julian Perkins
RESONUS RES 10128 78’46
Despite the work of Henry Purcell and others in the mid seventeenth century, English opera by 1700 was in a poor state and it was against this background that a competition was held to try to revive the genre. The accompanying booklet gives a fascinating insight into the difficulties involved, and Daniel Purcell’s entry did not, in the end, win. However its new text by William Congreve and its heroic story line made it popular and certainly well worth the effort of this fine new recording. As we delve ever further into the great number of works sadly ignored we realise what a fantastic wealth of works we possess, yet sadly overlooked. This splendid recording should justify the continuing search for the lost and overlooked.
Peter Warlock: Choral Works
Blossom Street, Hilary Campbell
RESONUS RES 10129 56’33
Blossom Street are a choir of young voices and this comes over very clearly in the freshness of this lovely recording. Many of the pieces are being recorded for the first time and there are very useful background notes by Adam Binks. For those of us who only know Warlock from a few familiar works, this is a very valuable addition to the repertoire.