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Comparison recording: Christophe Rousset, harpsichord (complete harpsichord works) L’Oiseau-Lyre 425 886-2

The keyboard music of Rameau is utterly unlike anybody else’s keyboard music, and generally very much as advertised in the individual titles. La Poule is nothing short of hilarious, and the "chatter of the birds" extremely depictive. I am advised that since people from Sologne are reputedly very wise, a "fool from Sologne" is hence just pretending, more a knave than a fool. But I have never been able to find out how that figures into this enigmatic work. One friend of mine actually screamed and ran out of the room when he heard it. How will it affect you?

Eiji Hashimoto is professor of Harpsichord and Artist-in-Residence at University of Cincinnati, and he plays this music with drama, intelligence, and commitment. The selection of pieces includes almost all the famous ones for a good one-disk set, which is probably just enough Rameau for most music lovers. The instrument is an authentic copy, mean-tone tuned, and pitched at a=415. But for those who are really interested in this music, Rousset plays the complete works on an authentic instrument that Rameau himself may have played, uses different appropriate pitches for the different publications, and performs with all of the qualities Eiji Hashimoto displays but offers greater precision and grace and more imagination in ornamentation. Admittedly this is an extremely high standard; Rousset is one of the premier musicians of our age and a foremost Rameau interpreter.

Rameau was one of the most advanced musical theorists of his time, which is one reason his music sounds oddly modern to us since he virtually invented much of the structure of Western music. Because he spent much time writing theoretical essays and revolutionary stage works that received mixed receptions, he wrote surprisingly little keyboard music. Hence several artists have recorded his complete œuvre, most notably Robert Veyron-Lacroix on 3 Westminster LPs. Fernando Valenti made a distinguished recording of the "suite in e minor" also on Westminster LP. More recently we have William Christie and Trevor Pinnock. Any of these recordings would be preferable to this one by Eiji Hashimoto.

Paul Shoemaker

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