1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark, Dense, Dramatic., September 28, 2011
This review is from: Forqueray: Pièces de Clavecin - Blandine Rannou (Audio CD)
In Blandine Rannou's notes on her intepretation of these works, she describes how she goes back to the original viola da gamba pieces and recreates them from the solo gamba plus continuo parts instead of just playing the keyboard versions by Forqueray's son, which were, in some cases, simplifications of the originals. Those movements where she finds the keyboard version to be a genuine re-creation of the original, she plays as is. Interesting approach, and utterly convincing in these performances. This is not like any harpsichord music I've ever heard--it's down in the middle to low registers most of the time, with thick, dark textures, yet never muddy. You can virtually hear the gambist digging into the low strings in the way she rolls the chords. This is muscular music and music making, and I'm enjoying it tremendously. The slower, introspective movements are taken at an expansive pace that doesn't drag, but allows the lines to unfold in their own time. Everything here works for me, the playing, the clear sense of character each movement conveys, but especially the way the pieces have been re-imagined for the keyboard, much like a good poetry translation is a re-creation of the original poem in a new languagen, not just a transliteration.
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