Notes and Editorial Reviews
My favorable comments on Angela Hewitt's first of three projected Couperin piano releases (type Q6497 in Search Reviews) apply for Volume 2. Here she offers a selection of pieces from the fourth book of the Pièces de Clavecin, Couperin's last published work, and proves how vibrant and expressive they can sound on a modern concert grand. Her ornaments bear the precision, point, and consistency of detail that the finest harpsichordists bring to this music. At the same time, from a pianist's vantagepoint, Hewitt's acute ear for tone color and dynamic shadings allows her to illuminate the composer's subtle harmonic surprises and lyrical introspection in pieces like Les ombres errantes and La petite pince-sans-rire. You might imagine greater
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spring and surface pomp in L'Amphibie's dotted rhythms, or more vitality in quicker, dance-oriented selections (you get this from Gregori Sokolov's Couperin concert performances--unfortunately not available on recordings). It's clear, however, that Hewitt has invested considerable time, effort, and care in this project, and her well-written, excellently researched annotations are no less valuable. She sets reference standards for pianists brave enough to poach what many harpsichordists consider exclusive territory. I eagerly await Volume 3.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
Pièces de clavecin, Book 2: Ordre 6 in B flat major by François Couperin
Performer:
Angela Hewitt (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1717; Paris, France
2.
Pièces de clavecin, Book 2: Ordre 8 in B minor by François Couperin
Performer:
Angela Hewitt (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1717; Paris, France
3.
Pièces de clavecin, Book 3: Ordre 18 in F minor/F major by François Couperin
Performer:
Angela Hewitt (Piano)
Period: Baroque
Written: by 1722; Paris, France
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