Massimo Berghella - Couperin: Complete Harpsichord Music (2023) [Hi-Res]
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BAND/ARTIST: Massimo Berghella
- Title: Couperin: Complete Harpsichord Music
- Year Of Release: 2023
- Label: Brilliant Classics
- Genre: Classical Harpsichord
- Quality: flac lossless (tracks) / flac 24bits - 44.1kHz +Booklet
- Total Time: 05:31:12
- Total Size: 2.1 mb / 3.67 gb
- WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist
01. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: III. Prelude
02. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCIII. Allemande
03. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCIV. Courante
04. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCV. Sarabande
05. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCVI. Chaconne ou Passacaille
06. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCVII. Sarabande
07. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCVIII. Passacaille
08. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: I. Prelude
09. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXVI. Allemande
10. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXVII. Pieces de trois sorts de Mouvemens
11. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXVIII. Courante
12. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXIX. Courante
13. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XL. Courante
14. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLI. Courante
15. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLIV. Sarabande
16. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLVII. Sarabande
17. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLV. Sarabande
18. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLVI. Sarabande
19. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLIX. Sarabande I
20. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLVIII. Sarabande II
21. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: LII. Canaries
22. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: LIII. Volte
23. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: LV. Chaconne
24. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: II. Prelude
25. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LVIII. Allemande
26. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LIX. Courante
27. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LX. Sarabande
28. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LXI. Gaillarde
29. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LXII. Chaconne
30. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: IV. Prelude
31. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: CXVIII. Allemande in B-Flat Major
32. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: CXIX. Courante in B-Flat Major
33. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: CXXI. Chaconne
34. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: V. Prelude in G Minor
35. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: VI. Prelude a l'imitation de Mr. Froberger
36. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CII. La Piemontoise
37. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CI. Allemande L'amiable
38. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CVI. Courante
39. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CV. Courante La Mignone
40. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CIX. Sarabande I
41. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CX. Sarabande II
42. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CXXV. Gavotte de Mr. Hardel. Double par Mr. Couperin
43. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: VII. Prelude
44. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: XCIX. Allemande
45. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CIII. Courante
46. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CIV. Courante
47. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CVII. Sarabande
48. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CVIII. Sarabande
49. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CXI. Menuet de poitou et son Double
50. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: VIII. Prelude
51. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: C. Allemande in A Minor
52. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: CXII. Courante
53. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: CXIII. Sarabande
54. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: CXIV. Gigue
55. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: IX. Prelude
56. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XV. Allemande
57. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XVII. Courante
58. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XVI. Courante
59. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XX. Sarabande
60. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXI. Sarabande
61. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXII. Sarabande
62. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXIII. Sarabande
63. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: CXXXI. Gavotte de Mr. Le Be'gue. Double par Mr. Couperin
64. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXVI. Chaconne
65. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXVIII. Sarabande
66. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXIX. Menuet
67. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: X. Prelude in C Major
68. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XI. Prelude
69. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: CXXVI. Le moutier, allemande de Mr. De Chambonniéres. Double du Moutier par Mr. Couperin
70. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XVIII. Courante
71. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XIX. Courante
72. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XXIV. Sarabande I
73. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XXV. Sarabande II
74. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: CXXVII. Rigaudon. Double par Mr. Couperin
75. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XXVII. Passacaille
76. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: XII. Prelude
77. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXVI. Allemande
78. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXVIII. Courante
79. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXIX. Courante
80. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXII. Sarabande
81. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXIII. Branle de Basque
82. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXVI. Gigue
83. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXVII. Gaillarde
84. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXVIII. Chaconne
85. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: XIII. Prelude
86. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXVII. Allemande Grave
87. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXX. Courante
88. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXI. Courante
89. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXIV. Sarabande
90. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXV. Sarabande
91. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXIX. Gigue
92. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXX. Chaconne
93. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXXI. Tombeau de Mr. De Blancrocher
94. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: XIV. Prelude
95. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: LXIII. Allemande de la Paix
96. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: LXIV. Courante
97. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: LXV. Sarabande
98. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: CXXVIII. Prelude
99. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXX. Allemande la Precieuse
100. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXI. Courante
101. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXII. Sarabande
102. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXIII. Gigue
103. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXIV. Chaconne la Bergeronnette
104. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: CXXIX. Prelude
105. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXIII. Allemande
106. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXIV. Courante
107. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXV. Courante
108. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXVI. Courante
109. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXVII. Sarabande
110. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXIX. Chaconne
111. Harpsichord Suite No. 15 in G Major: LXXXII. Allemande
112. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: XC. Courante
113. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: XCI. Courante
114. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: XCII. Courante
115. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXVIII. Gaillarde
116. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: XXXV. Allemande
117. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: XLII. Courante
118. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: XLIII. Courante
119. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LI. Sarabande I
120. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: L. Sarabande II
121. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LIV. La Pastourelle
122. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: CXXIV. Gavotte
123. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: CXXII. Gigue
124. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LVI. Sarabande
125. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LVII. Chaconne la Complaignante
126. Harpsichord Suite No. 17 in B Minor: CXV. Allemande
127. Harpsichord Suite No. 17 in B Minor: CXVI. Courante
129. Harpsichord Suite No. 17 in B Minor: CXX. Pavane in F-Sharp Minor
Louis Couperin (1626-1661) has long been a fabled name among French keyboard composers. Born in the provinces in the late 1620s, he was 'discovered' by the visiting court harpsichordist Jacques Champion Chambonnières in about 1650; soon he had an appointment at court and was titulaire of the organ at St Gervais in Paris, founding the Couperin dynasty that included most prominently his nephew, François Couperin 'le grand'.
Performers and listeners alike have long gravitated to Louis Couperin's music more than to that of any other member of the French keyboard school of the time, probably because of its fascinating and surprising harmonic language. There are 129 pieces catalogued as authentic. Among these, the unmeasured Preludes stand out as a kind of controlled improvisation in which Couperin gives us 16 examples of a genre that began life in the hands of the lutenists and now finds itself at the very peak of 17th century French harpsichord music.
The Preludes present a sequence of semibreves devoid of indication, the only guide to the manner of performance being the positioning of the semibreves (in itself often confusing), and a complex system of elaborate and elegant slurring. They invite a rich decorative language, but scholars and performers alike must delve deep into Couperin’s world in order to establish the grammar and vocabulary of that language.
In making this new recording of all 129 pieces, Massimo Berghella has chosen to take the Preludes as starting points for ‘suites’ – 17 in all – which gather up the remaining dance movements into coherent sequences cast in the same key as the relevant Prelude. This produces suites of greatly differing length – the E minor has only four movements, for example, but the D minor has ten – but makes good sense along both 17th- and 21st-century lines.
Among the most distinguished active Italian harpsichordists, Massimo Bergella studied with Kenneth Gilbert at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. He has a 30-year-long career as a teacher himself, as well as a performance diary and discography that has taken him across Europe for recitals, broadcasts and recordings. Of a previous album of d’Anglebert, La Nazione remarked that Berghella ‘grasps the reconstructive necessity of the scores, performing them in all their poetic complexity.’
- Louis Couperin was a French Baroque composer and harpsichord player. He was a member of a family of musicians and was one of the most important composers of harpsichord music in his time. He studied with the famous composer and founder of the French harpsichord school, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. Louis was introduced to the court of Louis XIV and on April 9th 1653 became organist at Saint-Gervais, one of the most important positions in Paris at the time which he held until his death. He later became one of the organists at the Chapelle Royale.
- Couperin’s harpsichord music is characterized by its intricate and delicate keyboard figurations, its ornate and expressive use of ornamentation, and its imaginative use of harmonies and keys.
- Couperin’s complete harpsichord music consists of three main collections: the "Ordres", "Pièces de Clavecin" and "Pièces d’Orgue". The "Ordres" are a series of suites for harpsichord, each of which is comprised of several movements, including preludes, allemandes, courantes, sarabandes, minuets, and gigues. These pieces are notable for their fluid and improvisational character, as well as their highly decorative use of ornamentation. The "Pièces de Clavecin" are individual pieces for harpsichord, each of which showcases Couperin’s mastery of different musical styles, from the delicate and introspective to the lively and virtuosic.
- Massimo Berghella is one of the foremost harpsichord players of Italy. He collaborated with Kenneth Gilbert, Ton Koopman and Alan Curtis.
01. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: III. Prelude
02. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCIII. Allemande
03. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCIV. Courante
04. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCV. Sarabande
05. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCVI. Chaconne ou Passacaille
06. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCVII. Sarabande
07. Harpsichord Suite No. 1 in G Minor: XCVIII. Passacaille
08. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: I. Prelude
09. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXVI. Allemande
10. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXVII. Pieces de trois sorts de Mouvemens
11. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXVIII. Courante
12. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XXXIX. Courante
13. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XL. Courante
14. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLI. Courante
15. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLIV. Sarabande
16. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLVII. Sarabande
17. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLV. Sarabande
18. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLVI. Sarabande
19. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLIX. Sarabande I
20. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: XLVIII. Sarabande II
21. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: LII. Canaries
22. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: LIII. Volte
23. Harpsichord Suite No. 2 in D Minor: LV. Chaconne
24. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: II. Prelude
25. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LVIII. Allemande
26. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LIX. Courante
27. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LX. Sarabande
28. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LXI. Gaillarde
29. Harpsichord Suite No. 3 in D Major: LXII. Chaconne
30. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: IV. Prelude
31. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: CXVIII. Allemande in B-Flat Major
32. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: CXIX. Courante in B-Flat Major
33. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: CXXI. Chaconne
34. Harpsichord Suite No. 4 in G Minor: V. Prelude in G Minor
35. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: VI. Prelude a l'imitation de Mr. Froberger
36. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CII. La Piemontoise
37. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CI. Allemande L'amiable
38. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CVI. Courante
39. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CV. Courante La Mignone
40. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CIX. Sarabande I
41. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CX. Sarabande II
42. Harpsichord Suite No. 5 in A Minor: CXXV. Gavotte de Mr. Hardel. Double par Mr. Couperin
43. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: VII. Prelude
44. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: XCIX. Allemande
45. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CIII. Courante
46. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CIV. Courante
47. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CVII. Sarabande
48. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CVIII. Sarabande
49. Harpsichord Suite No. 6 in A Minor: CXI. Menuet de poitou et son Double
50. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: VIII. Prelude
51. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: C. Allemande in A Minor
52. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: CXII. Courante
53. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: CXIII. Sarabande
54. Harpsichord Suite No. 7 in A Major: CXIV. Gigue
55. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: IX. Prelude
56. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XV. Allemande
57. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XVII. Courante
58. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XVI. Courante
59. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XX. Sarabande
60. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXI. Sarabande
61. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXII. Sarabande
62. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXIII. Sarabande
63. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: CXXXI. Gavotte de Mr. Le Be'gue. Double par Mr. Couperin
64. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXVI. Chaconne
65. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXVIII. Sarabande
66. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: XXIX. Menuet
67. Harpsichord Suite No. 8 in C Major: X. Prelude in C Major
68. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XI. Prelude
69. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: CXXVI. Le moutier, allemande de Mr. De Chambonniéres. Double du Moutier par Mr. Couperin
70. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XVIII. Courante
71. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XIX. Courante
72. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XXIV. Sarabande I
73. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XXV. Sarabande II
74. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: CXXVII. Rigaudon. Double par Mr. Couperin
75. Harpsichord Suite No. 9 in C Major: XXVII. Passacaille
76. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: XII. Prelude
77. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXVI. Allemande
78. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXVIII. Courante
79. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXIX. Courante
80. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXII. Sarabande
81. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXIII. Branle de Basque
82. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXVI. Gigue
83. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXVII. Gaillarde
84. Harpsichord Suite No. 10 in F Major: LXXVIII. Chaconne
85. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: XIII. Prelude
86. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXVII. Allemande Grave
87. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXX. Courante
88. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXI. Courante
89. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXIV. Sarabande
90. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXV. Sarabande
91. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXIX. Gigue
92. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXX. Chaconne
93. Harpsichord Suite No. 11 in F Major: LXXXI. Tombeau de Mr. De Blancrocher
94. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: XIV. Prelude
95. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: LXIII. Allemande de la Paix
96. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: LXIV. Courante
97. Harpsichord Suite No. 12 in E Minor: LXV. Sarabande
98. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: CXXVIII. Prelude
99. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXX. Allemande la Precieuse
100. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXI. Courante
101. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXII. Sarabande
102. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXIII. Gigue
103. Harpsichord Suite No. 13 in C Minor: XXXIV. Chaconne la Bergeronnette
104. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: CXXIX. Prelude
105. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXIII. Allemande
106. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXIV. Courante
107. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXV. Courante
108. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXVI. Courante
109. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXVII. Sarabande
110. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXIX. Chaconne
111. Harpsichord Suite No. 15 in G Major: LXXXII. Allemande
112. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: XC. Courante
113. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: XCI. Courante
114. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: XCII. Courante
115. Harpsichord Suite No. 14 in G Major: LXXXVIII. Gaillarde
116. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: XXXV. Allemande
117. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: XLII. Courante
118. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: XLIII. Courante
119. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LI. Sarabande I
120. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: L. Sarabande II
121. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LIV. La Pastourelle
122. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: CXXIV. Gavotte
123. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: CXXII. Gigue
124. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LVI. Sarabande
125. Harpsichord Suite No. 16 in D Minor: LVII. Chaconne la Complaignante
126. Harpsichord Suite No. 17 in B Minor: CXV. Allemande
127. Harpsichord Suite No. 17 in B Minor: CXVI. Courante
129. Harpsichord Suite No. 17 in B Minor: CXX. Pavane in F-Sharp Minor
Louis Couperin (1626-1661) has long been a fabled name among French keyboard composers. Born in the provinces in the late 1620s, he was 'discovered' by the visiting court harpsichordist Jacques Champion Chambonnières in about 1650; soon he had an appointment at court and was titulaire of the organ at St Gervais in Paris, founding the Couperin dynasty that included most prominently his nephew, François Couperin 'le grand'.
Performers and listeners alike have long gravitated to Louis Couperin's music more than to that of any other member of the French keyboard school of the time, probably because of its fascinating and surprising harmonic language. There are 129 pieces catalogued as authentic. Among these, the unmeasured Preludes stand out as a kind of controlled improvisation in which Couperin gives us 16 examples of a genre that began life in the hands of the lutenists and now finds itself at the very peak of 17th century French harpsichord music.
The Preludes present a sequence of semibreves devoid of indication, the only guide to the manner of performance being the positioning of the semibreves (in itself often confusing), and a complex system of elaborate and elegant slurring. They invite a rich decorative language, but scholars and performers alike must delve deep into Couperin’s world in order to establish the grammar and vocabulary of that language.
In making this new recording of all 129 pieces, Massimo Berghella has chosen to take the Preludes as starting points for ‘suites’ – 17 in all – which gather up the remaining dance movements into coherent sequences cast in the same key as the relevant Prelude. This produces suites of greatly differing length – the E minor has only four movements, for example, but the D minor has ten – but makes good sense along both 17th- and 21st-century lines.
Among the most distinguished active Italian harpsichordists, Massimo Bergella studied with Kenneth Gilbert at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. He has a 30-year-long career as a teacher himself, as well as a performance diary and discography that has taken him across Europe for recitals, broadcasts and recordings. Of a previous album of d’Anglebert, La Nazione remarked that Berghella ‘grasps the reconstructive necessity of the scores, performing them in all their poetic complexity.’
- Louis Couperin was a French Baroque composer and harpsichord player. He was a member of a family of musicians and was one of the most important composers of harpsichord music in his time. He studied with the famous composer and founder of the French harpsichord school, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. Louis was introduced to the court of Louis XIV and on April 9th 1653 became organist at Saint-Gervais, one of the most important positions in Paris at the time which he held until his death. He later became one of the organists at the Chapelle Royale.
- Couperin’s harpsichord music is characterized by its intricate and delicate keyboard figurations, its ornate and expressive use of ornamentation, and its imaginative use of harmonies and keys.
- Couperin’s complete harpsichord music consists of three main collections: the "Ordres", "Pièces de Clavecin" and "Pièces d’Orgue". The "Ordres" are a series of suites for harpsichord, each of which is comprised of several movements, including preludes, allemandes, courantes, sarabandes, minuets, and gigues. These pieces are notable for their fluid and improvisational character, as well as their highly decorative use of ornamentation. The "Pièces de Clavecin" are individual pieces for harpsichord, each of which showcases Couperin’s mastery of different musical styles, from the delicate and introspective to the lively and virtuosic.
- Massimo Berghella is one of the foremost harpsichord players of Italy. He collaborated with Kenneth Gilbert, Ton Koopman and Alan Curtis.
Year 2023 | Classical | Discography | FLAC / APE | HD & Vinyl
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