Rameau / Lagace / Dautel / Orchestre De Chambre - Six Concerts for Sextet-First Suite for Harpsichor - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Historic keyboard instruments are not always easy things to like. The trouble starts, especially with plucked instruments, with the choice of plectra, made generally from quills. If they are too soft or too hard, it becomes difficult to articulate properly. The aim is to find a golden mean, but this becomes impossible if the touch is to be equal over the whole keyboard-in this case forty-five keys. But should uniformity be a goal anyway? It's hard to imagine the instrument makers of old limiting themselves in that way. If you choose animal-based materials for the plectra which pluck the strings and boar bristle for the jack springs, plus felt or leather dampers, the instrument develops an unpredictable life of it's own which is compounded by the movement of the different types of wood-from the case and keyboard to the soundboard itself-according to ambient temperature and humidity. In short, historic keyboard instruments demand far more loving care and attention even than young children. But players and listeners alike may discover an endless cosmos of nuances, including the unavoidable mechanical noises too, if they are willing to cope with all these idiosyncrasies. As always, the two original instruments featured here are conceived for the musical demands of the renaissance and early baroque. Their range, with a Inchshort octaveInch in the bass, corresponds to a standard that remained in force over centuries on both sides of the Alps. Even the layman will notice that both instruments seem to sound stronger in their low and middle registers whereas the intensity of sound, for all it's transparency, diminishes in the higher registers. These instruments are explored here by Peter Waldner. Album Tracks 1. Toccata Del Sesto Tono 2. «Per Dolor Mi Bagno Il Viso D'un Liquor Soave Tanto» (After M. Carra) 3. «Che Debbio Fare» After B. Tromboncino (From «Frottole Int

Album Tracks 1. Bushes and Briars 2. Linden Lea (Arr. for Male Choir) 3. The Turtle Dove 4. Zur Guten Nacht, Op. 81, No. 3, D. 903 5. Standchen (Serenade), Op. 135, D. 920 6. Im Gegenwartigen Vergangenes, D. 710 7. Nachthelle, Op. 134, D. 892 8. Am Brunnen Vor Dem Tore 9. Hab Oft Im Kreis Der Lieben 10. Annchen Von Tharau 11. Persischer Nachtgesang 12. Lebewohl 13. In Die Ferne, Op. 33, No. 1 14. Loreley 15. In Einem Kuhlen Grunde 16. Komm, Trust Der Welt 17. Des Ringlein 18. Schone Nacht 19. Das Morgenrot 20. Ritornelle in Canonischen Weisen, Op. 65 No. 1. Die Rose Stand Im Tau (The Rose Stand in the Dew) 21. Kristallen Den Fina 22. Gryning Vid Havet (Dawn Over the Ocean)

Album Tracks 1. Rinaldo, HWV 7, Act II Lascia Ch'io Pianga (Let Me Lament) 2. Orfeo Ed Euridice, Act III Che Faro Senza Euridice? 3. Hercules, HWV 60, Act III Where Shall I Fly? Where Hide This Guilty Head? 4. Giustino, RV 717, Act II Sento in Seno Ch'in Pioggia Di Lagrime 5. Il Ritorno D'ulisse in Patria, Act I Di Misera Regina 6. Orfeo Ed Euridice, Act II Che Puro Ciel 7. Aci, Galatea E Polifemo, HWV 72 Aria Benche Tuoni 8. Giustino, RV 717, Act I Vedro Con Mio Diletto 9. Lamento D'arianna, SV 22 1A Parte - Lasciatemi Morire 10. Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17, Act II L'angue Offeso Mai Riposa 11. Dido and Aeneas, Z. 626, Act III When I Am Laid in Earth