Byrd: Harpsichord music /Leonhardt [Import]

William [Composer] Byrd (Composer), Gustav Leonhardt (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Gustav Leonhardt
• Composer: William [Composer] Byrd
• Audio CD (August 2, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Alpha Productions
• ASIN: B0009I8PWS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,093 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #3 in Music > Classical > Ballets & Dances > Baroque Dance Suites > Allemandes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime, September 5, 2011

By 

Megaroque - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Byrd: Harpsichord music /Leonhardt (Audio CD)

To me this recording is a paragon for performing Byrd. There are many factors that have contributed to my fondness. Above all, Gustav Leonhardt is a splendid interpreter of early music. Do not let the many CDs he has recorded deceive you that he is putting music out just to be heard -- he is not just a professor who wants to "show" you early music. No, he is an exceptionally capable interpreter, with many noble qualities that affect his performance style positively. To me it almost feels like he applies the same philosophy to every recording, and achieving it itself requires a flexible approach and diversifies the music. Namely, the composition is split into a dialogue with participants, and each participant is given as much character as possible, making it as hard as possible for the whole to feel coherent. Leonhardt's ability truly shines at that point -- he shows an exceptional understanding of what is left for the performer to control in order to achieve coherence. He is patient and very attentive down to the smallest detail in the music, thus not leaving any note feel detached from the whole (yes, while at the same time giving as much power to each participant in the dialogue as possible). Leonhardt is an architect of music, and he brings out the Renaissance and Baroque as sophisticated, gracious, and full of style and richness. He deals with building the music a certain way, and as a consequence in his hands I hear and feel an impregnated ball of energy which is so charged and capable that it cannot help exploding in different forms in exploration of what it itself is. Truly elevated and fine art.

And that is only one of the factors contributing to the value of this CD. To quickly mention the rest, Leonhardt uses a copy of the oldest surviving North European harpsichord, which happens actually to be a claviorganum. In the recording a copy of the original is used -- only the harpsichord part. The instrument sounds incredible, with a clear and wide range, due to its specific construction. It is in fact an instrument historians are pretty confident Byrd himself got to play on! Add to the mix that Alpha label has superb recording engineering and that the pieces are quite diverse, and you should be getting an idea of what to expect. Wholeheartedly recommended recording with no reservations. Words are incapable to describe it -- grab it and listen!

5.0 out of 5 stars Byrd: Harpsichord music /Leonhardt..., November 2, 2011

By 

D. S. HARDEN "a movie fan" (L.A.,CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Byrd: Harpsichord music /Leonhardt (Audio CD)

Just received my copy 11/01/11. I stumbled into Willam Byrd on XM Radio. As I am a 'fiend' for the harpsichord, first I was captured by the music, then the performer. As it had been some time since I had heard Byrd's music on XM, I finally did a little research and found this disc!

My findings:

1. Excellent compositions (Mr. Byrd)
2. Excellent performance (Leonhardt)
3. Excellent sound (credit to the recording engineer - with the right stereo equipment, you'd swear
that you were in the room with Leonhardt)
4. Excellent price ($15/US - New! Easily worth more)
5. Thanks to the notes provided, I found out that the instrument used was actually called a "claviorganum",
which is a harpsichord and organ built into one! For this effort (of course), he uses the
harpsichord part. As Amazoner "Megaroque" mentioned in his review, Byrd may have played
on the instrument himself!
6. Though I don't have an exact figure, the disc clocks in the 45-55 minute range - and it goes...
too fast!! (Oh well, you can't have everything...I guess...)

Thanks to XM radio, I'm hoping to find similar work by Byrd. If Leonhardt is playing/performing the works, then that's a bonus!!

I rate "Byrd: Harpsichord music /Leonhardt"...5 stars!!