RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

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Elizabeth-Claude JACQUET DE LA GUERRE (c. 1664-1729) Harpsichord Suites Nos. 1-6 Suite No. 1 in D minor (1687) [24:26] Suite No. 2 in G minor (1687) [19:09] Suite No. 3 in A minor (1687) [21:36] Suite No. 4 in F (1687) [18:55] Suite No. 5 in D minor (1707) [43:29] Suite No. 6 in G (1707) [15:14] Elizabeth Farr (harpsichord) rec. 3-6 August 2004, Orum Hall, Valparaiso, Indiana, USA NAXOS 8.557654-55 [65:11 + 77:39]

These discs represents a truly rare collection. The first four suites from 1687 were believed lost until possibly the only copy of the scores was found in Venice. The remaining two suites are from the only extant copy of Jacquet de la Guerre’s second book of harpsichord pieces. For those not familiar with de la Guerre, she was a child prodigy born to a family of harpsichord builders. Certain liberties were of course taken, just as with Mozart and the young Beethoven, with her age while she performed for the court of Louis XIV until Versailles was constructed. She chose to stay in Paris and pursue composition, as well as her own salon, which she maintained in her home until she died in 1729. Composed in the then-popular stile brise fashion, intended to emulate the playing of a lute, all chords are arpeggiated. This imitation of lute music goes even to the point of including unmeasured, unmetered preludes that were commonly used to allow lutenists to tune the instrument before the main movements of a work were played. The instrument, built on a French model, was chosen because its sound is close to that of the lute for which the music strives. Closely miked, the harpsichord has great presence during playback; the recording is crisp and excellently balanced. Much of the notes in the booklet concern the use of ornamentation. Ornamentation tables indicating the composer’s intent regarding the symbols used in the scores were not included when the documents were discovered. Contemporary composers’ scores were consulted to make sure that these pieces were as close as possible to what the score required. The unfortunate part of this discussion on ornamentation is that there is simply too much of it in the performance. Indication is given that additional ornamentation was included during repeated passages and this, atop the already-notated indications in the score, give the lily a three-layer coat of gilt. For those who greatly enjoy this type of music, played in this manner, this might be worth a listen — this music isn’t available anywhere else, and production values of the recording are superb. For many, though, this recording may just be too much of a good thing. David Blomenberg see also review by Glyn Pursglove     Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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