Customer Reviews

Couperin: Keyboard Music, Vol. 1

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Francois 'le grand' Couperin was the most talented and prolific musician from the many generations of the French Couperin family of musicians. He is best known for his 220 keyboard pieces, organized in 27 groups (ordres). Couperin's keyboard music is in the style of the Court of Louis XIV and the 'French manner' of the 18th century influenced by Lully: noble and ornate, fluent and graceful, sometimes stately yet often charming, and above all, delightfully pleasant to the ear. Harsh notes or dissonance are not part of the courtly style. One unusual aspect of Couperin's pieces is the rather strange and often-mysterious titles given to each work ("The Gnat"' "The Turbulent One", "The Limping Fellow" and so on). While the origins of these strange titles are not often clear, one thing they suggest is that the music to follow will be unique, varied and unusually descriptive - which turns out to be the case.

Couperin's music is filled with 'grace notes' (trills) in virtually every bar - part of which purely defined this French courtly style and part as a means to sustain the notes on the early claviers prior to the invention of the sustaining pedel. Of course - like Scarlatti's many keyboard sonatas - this music was originally created for the harpsichord, but (right or wrong) some people just don't like the sound of the harpsichord (especially in an entire 70+ minute CD) and prefer their Baroque solo keyboard music in modern piano tones. Couperin's music sounds ideal for the harpsichord, but luckily for those who gravitate to the piano, Angela Hewitt plays this music most naturally and elegantly. The variety of textures and pianistic effects Hewitt summons marvelously communicate the many moods of Couperin. This first volume is the best place to begin to explore these works out of the three CD's from Hyperion - one reason being Hewitt's eleven pages of background notes that give an excellent introduction to the life and music of Couperin.

While Couperin's music seems to include these 'grace notes' in just about every bar (perhaps something of an "acquired taste"), Angela Hewitt does a beautiful job to artistically integrate them into the overall tapestry and flow of the music. Such music as Couperin fits well with Miss Hewitt's rather sweet, nuanced and lyrical style. Probably the most notable example of this is pieces of pure innocence and delight like "le Tic-Toc-Choc" (track 14) where Hewitt's delicate, dancing rhythms and pianistic nuances produces a work of great charm. In such works she takes full advantage of the more nuanced dynamics and shaded colourations of the modern piano to bring out more songful lyricism which fits the underlying expressivity of the compositions.

Contrastingly, in the stately, processional pieces (such as the opening work and especially in the Passacaille at the end - one of Couperin's most monumental harpsichord works), Miss Hewitt accentuates the granduer of such works with convincing effect - albeit finessing her way around the two-manual harpsichord dense writing with one keyboard. Also especially in favor of the piano's subtletries are Couperin's slower, heartfelt movements which Hewitt plays with great affection, lyricism and fluidity. In these she finds their ponderous, emotional core with her soft, nuanced textures (Track 20). And especially in songs like the plaintive "La Verneuille" (Track 9), one can even sense a foreshadowing of "romantic" expressiveness, showing just how much Couperin's inventiveness was ahead of its time.

But, having read the Amazon reviews of both Hewitt Couperin sets, I was hesitant to purchase it because of some comments poor sound quality. But, I was quite happy with both the clarity and resonance and felt the Hyperion engineers created a fitting sound environment for this type of music in particular - although some may not prefer the greater spaciousness of the recording. It's sound environment sounds much like her "French Suites" recordings. Penguin Guide gave this CD (along with Vol. 2) a top 3/3 star rating along with a "Recommended Recording" nod. Similarly, ClassicsToday rated this CD a a perfect 10/10 for Artistry/Sound Quality and said this of the recording:

"Angela Hewitt's first of three projected Couperin releases may well become a paradigm, a reference point for future pianists wishing to explore this repertoire. Anyone who claims that a modern grand's sonority is too heavy or stylistically incongruous for doing justice to Couperin's delicate textures and intricate embellishments simply hasn't heard Hewitt. She's a master of balancing lines against each other so that they stay vibrant and alive at any tempo, scaling dynamics with the utmost subtlety, and timing cadences with perfectly spaced single notes or rolled chords. And I wager that Hewitt's early background as a dancer informs her unerring tempo choices. Hyperion's excellent engineering plus Hewitt's articulate, well-researched annotations enhance this altogether delectable release."

One last thing I liked about this music was that the dynamic range is fairly consistent with not a lot of change from soft to loud - which makes it condusive to nighttime listening. All together, this is a most enjoyable CD that is both highly inventive for its time but also "easy on the ear," as Hewitt is a natural for such music and makes it sound most appealing. Of course, this all assuming you take to this music on piano. I am enjoying this music much more than I thought I would and enthusiastically recommend it as well as Volume II and III. Compositions - 5 stars; Performance - 5 stars; Sound Quality - 4 stars.

I am a passionate lover of the "historical performance" movement; therefore I was totally surprised by this Hewitt disc. I love Couperin on the harpsichord; so, when I bought the used disc at Amoeba Records in Berkeley , having heard one selection from the disc on the KXPR from Sacramento, I was totally surprised that I really loved Couperin on a modern piano! Several of the pieces had a jazz-like quality to them. I discovered nuances I had never heard before when listening to Couperin on the harpsichord. Having said this, I have a suspicion that not all pianists could achieve what Ms. Hewitt did so well in this disc. This seems to be one instance where adaptation is justified. I plan to get the second volume as well.

This is Couperin the way I like it, not on the harpsichord but on the piano. I don't have a harpsichord, but I do have a piano. And yes, I think some harpsichord music does sound better on a piano. Angela Hewitt picked some of Couperin's works that she felt "translated the best to the modern piano" and found the most interesting. And she played them very nicely. Much, much better than I do.

One of my favorite pieces on this album is "Les Maillotins." But there is a problem for Hewitt here. The two hands play the same notes on the harpsichord, but on two different keyboards. This won't work on the piano, and Couperin advises playing the left hand an octave lower or the right hand an octave higher. Hewitt chose the latter option.

I like the album and Hewitt's choice of compositions. And yes, I am glad she included the hypnotic "Les Barricades Misterieuses," which is one of Couperin's most famous pieces.

I've been a fan of Hewitt's for a long time, but only recently came across this set of Couperin suites (ordres). The eighth ordre has been a favorite of mine, having studied it in college, and having an excellent recording of Skip Sempe performing it on the harpsichord.

I heard Hewitt's reading of the eighth ordre on the radio a few weeks ago. My first thought was "uh-oh, this ain't gonna work...". Couperin's keyboard music is so geared to the harpsichord that hearing it on another instrument would be like hearing Bach on a Moog synthesizer. (Ummm, come to think of it, that experiment turned out pretty well...)

As I started paying attention, I was struck first by the tempi she uses -- a bit faster than the other performances I'm familiar with. After thinking about that for a while, I realized that the tempi made sense, at least from a "technology" standpoint. The action of a piano is much more nimble than that of a harpsichord.

My next area of concentration was ornamentation. To me, this is what makes Couperin's music identifiable. Although it sometimes seems as though he's throwing so many trills, mordents, appogiaturas, etc., at the listener as to inundate the "music", it's one of the main features that gives the music its charm. And I will admit that this "charm" is an acquired taste. (My wife, who is a competent listener when it comes to classical music, declared this performance "noisy". I haven't played her the Sempe harpsichord version lately, though.) Here again, though, the piano is more than up to the task of handling all those extra notes, and does it in such a way that is less clatteringly noisy than a harpsichord.

So the performance works, for me, on a technical level -- the music comes thru on this different instrument, and does so remarkably well. This last point (the "remarkably well" part) is due to Hewitt's abilities and musicianship. I won't bother to repeat the superlatives that other reviewers have heaped on this performance -- it really is quite superb.

Which brings me down to the nitty-gritty issue: does moving a VERY "harpsichord-ish" piece of music to the modern piano do the music justice? I think the answer is Yes. There are those die-hards who will label it sacrilege, but remember that many critics said the same of Gould's 1954 recording of the Goldberg Variations. I think history will show that Glenn Gould almost single-handedly brought Bach's keyboard works out of their provincial backwater of the music conservatory, and put it back in the concert hall to shine for all to hear. While it might be a stretch to say that Hewitt's Couperin will do the same kind of thing, I think that it's at least a step in the right direction. These ordres (30-some in all) deserve more airplay than they get in their harpsichord versions. Perhaps bringing them into the 20th century (OK, it's the 21st, but you get my drift) is one of the best things that could happen to Couperin.

Highly recommended. I'll be getting the other two volumes with all deliberate speed.

Like the other reviewers, I love the harpsichord music of the Great Couperin. It represents an outstanding achievement of the French baroque and a lasting memorial to a time when music did not seek to arouse the passions but to communicate them in a discreet and controlled manner. Unlike Bach's harpsichord works, Couperin's harpsichord music does not involve the same extraordinary intellectual discipline, counterpoint and complexity. It does, however, work very precisely with the harpsichord sonority (the way Chopin's works with the piano), in volving wide ranging decorations, imaginative flourishes, unequal notes and a very rich but controlled musicality which do not easily translate into piano music. It can be done as Emmannuel Tharaud has demonstrated in his fine recording, but I do not believe that Angela Hewitt delivers it here. I have listened to this cd well over 20 times, every time hoping to derive more pleasure than I actually do and it is this that prompts me to write this review. The staccato style favoured by Hewitt, evoking Glenn Gould's great Bach recordings, simply does not work here. It turns elaborate grandeur into triviality - the Versailles spirit cannot be captured in this manner. To me, this sounds very much like a French poem read by somebody with a very strong foreign accent.

This disc is a true delight: lively, lovely and gracious; there is no disturbence in this music & Hewitt continues to provide us with much needed "balm for the soul" in these raucous and perilous times. I look forward to the next two discs, and hope that she also will issue a recording of Louis Couperin's equally beautiful "unmeasured preludes," which deserve rediscovering as well.

I think this music sounds MUCH better on the piano than on the harpsichord, and I am sure that I'm not alone. Let's face it, modern ears find the harpsichord difficult to listen to, especially solo in long stretches. It seems unfair to me that some of you are condemning this disc because you are purists who think this music should only be recorded on harpsichord. It's a beautiful recording.

Short and sweet: This is wonderful music to play loud while cleaning dishes, medium level while reading the Sunday paper with coffee, or quietly while holding a conversation with family/friends. It works and entertains on all levels -- a rare achievement for any full Classical/Baroque CD of music, even Bach.

I love Couperin played on piano rather than harpsichord. Very nice music for relaxing or formal dining.

Music in pristine condition. Quick delivery. Very satisfied. I am having great fun learning it. It is not easy.