Katherine Roberts Perl has made a splendid recital dedicated to the last
four
Ordres of Couperin. What makes it so special is not simply the
element of characterisation and finesse which she brings, but also the
sound-world she evokes. Partly these light but flexible voicings are her own
subtleties but partly too the result of her decision to fit plectra made
from Canada geese into her harpsichord. This, incidentally, is a 1987 model
built by John Phillips and modelled after an N. Dumont double manual of
1707. The results are consistently beautiful.
These are Couperin’s final harpsichord works, with the 24
th and
25
th sets paying homage to Lully. Interspersed are two Preludes
which come from Couperin’s
L’Art de toucher le clavecin. There are
eight such in total from this 1716 publication so she plays a quarter,
starting with No.7 which, in its expressive flexibility, provides a perfect
start to the 25
th Ordre –she inverts the order of these
first two sets.
La Visionaire has a buoyant majesty whilst
La
Monflambert possesses real refinement of touch. It’s noticeable that
even in the more extrovert or flamboyant left hand passages, there is no
tonal harshness and, aided by the sympathetic acoustic, the music emerges
the more richly and delicately. The final piece from this set,
Les
Ombres Errantes, lends its name to the disc title and appropriately so
as it’s musing and reflective with deft, drifting harmonies.
Couperin’s homage to Lully is nowhere more evident than in
Les Vieux
Seigneurs, the first of the 24
th Ordre though the
playful gallantry enshrined in
Les Jeunes Seigneurs is no less
engaging. Where the music asks for nobility of expression (‘Noblement’) Perl
provides such. Where more searching harmonies exist, as in
La
Convalescente, the first of the 26
th set, she is equally
persuasive.
La Sophie, replete with ornaments, is a delight and
La Pantomime is certainly traversed, as the composer requests, with
grande précision. His instructions suggest strongly the expressive
character of the music; woe betide a harpsichordist who ignores the
Nonchallamment instruction in
Les Pavots from the
27
th Ordre. To this Perl is equal but she also brings
just a hint of tristesse to the music-making.
Throughout she captures the many moods and textures of the music with
stylish but unselfconscious intimacy. With her own thoughtful notes and a
sympathetic recording, this is a success from beginning to end.
Jonathan Woolf
