Davitt Moroney is an important scholar and recording artist and his monumental
Byrd box has been reviewed recently for
MotW. His most recent Hyperion CD is
a complete recording on harpsichord (by Phillips after Dumont) and an Italian
virginal of a newly discovered manuscript of music by and copied by Marc
Roger Normand Couperin, a cousin of Francois Couperin-le-Grand.
There are 57 tracks including pieces of his own and by Chambonnieres, Le
Begue, Lully together with arrangements by Couperin of various unattributed
pieces. The pieces are grouped by key and the mixture of works by different
composers is typical of the 17th century. This adds up to a new
treasure trove and a smaller monument to Moroney's ceaselessly enquiring
mind, and the scholarship and stylish performance which he brings to all
his rediscoveries.
The illustrated booklet runs to 13 pages of text plus French translations
and the recording is of Hyperion's usual high standard. The recording was
produced with the Festival of d'Ambronay, which aims to bring new life to
the ancient Benedictine Abbey and has sponsored outstanding discoveries presented
each year.
Reviewer
Peter Grahame Woolf
Davitt
Moroney (harpsichord and virginal)
