Portuguese Fortepiano: 18th Century Iberian Keyboard Music / Parmentier

Sebastian de Albero (Composer), Joao de Sousa Carvalho (Composer), Baldassare Galuppi (Composer), Lodovico Giustini (Composer), Domenico Scarlatti (Composer), Carlos de Seixas (Composer), Antonio Soler (Composer), Edward Parmentier (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Edward Parmentier
• Composer: Sebastian de Albero, Joao de Sousa Carvalho, Baldassare Galuppi, Lodovico Giustini, Domenico Scarlatti, et al.
• Audio CD (January 25, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wildboar / Wild Boar Records
• ASIN: B00003XB5H
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #845,960 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Piano Sonata in A major

2. Keyboard Sonata No. 77 in F sharp minor

3. Keyboard Sonata No. 116 in G major

4. Sonata for keyboard in E major, K. 28 (L. 373)

5. Keyboard Sonata No.11 in E major

6. Keyboard Sonata No.11 in E major

7. Keyboard Sonata No.11 in E major

8. Keyboard Sonata No.11 in E major

9. Keyboard Sonata No.11 in E major

10. Keyboard Sonata No. 42 in F minor (Allegro - Minuet): Allegro

11. Keyboard Sonata No. 42 in F minor (Allegro - Minuet): Minuet

12. Keyboard Sonata No. XXIII in A minor (Andante - Minuet)

13. Keyboard Sonata No. XXIII in A minor (Andante - Minuet)

14. Work(s): Toccata for keyboard in D minor

15. Toccata for harpsichord in G minor: Allegro

16. Toccata for harpsichord in G minor: Andante

17. Keyboard Sonata No. 5 in D major: Preludio: Adagio, e arpeggiato nell'acciaccature

18. Keyboard Sonata No. 5 in D major: Allegro

19. Keyboard Sonata No. 5 in D major: Affettuoso

20. Keyboard Sonata No. 5 in D major: Corrente: Allegro

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful musicianship - and a great treat to hear, July 5, 2002

By 

Craig Matteson (Saline, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Portuguese Fortepiano: 18th Century Iberian Keyboard Music / Parmentier (Audio CD)

For Mr. Parmentier the music comes first, second, and third. He is all about letting the music reveal its charms and its soul rather than making the performer the point.

The interesting thing to me, is that the way Mr. Parmentier makes this happen is rather unique. It isn't just period playing (there are lots of folks who do that). It is all about how he articultes things, the tempi and rubato he uses. And of course the instruments he uses when playing the music.

Here we hear a fortepiano from the mid-eighteenth century. Since the piano was really first developed around 1721 this is indeed a wonderful experience. While we of the present day are certainly biased towards our wonderful modern instruments (I know I am), when I hear Mr. Parmentier play this music on this instrument I do hear things in the music that would not be heard if played on a big Steinway or the very brilliant Yamahas.

There is a delicacy to the tone and articulation happens because the early pianos were made to sound somewhat like harpsichords and didn't have the power to sustain tones almost indefinately. This requires certain musical choices and the music on this disk seems so perfectly written for this instrument (or one like it).

I encourage you to get any recording you can by Mr. Parmentier. He is a wonderful musician with a keen mind and a heart devoted to music.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Next time, stick to Iberia, July 10, 2005

By 

Eloi (Ely, NV USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Portuguese Fortepiano: 18th Century Iberian Keyboard Music / Parmentier (Audio CD)

No fan of the 555 keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti should pass this album up. Admittedly, any restoration of an 18th-century instrument like the 1767 Antunes piano here will depend on inspired guesswork, but the brass stringing and leather-wrapped hammers of this instrument show real attention to historical facts.

There are only two Scarlatti sonatas on the album, but there are sonatas by Scarlatti's contemporary at the Portuguese court,
Carlos Seixas, as well as two younger Spanish composers, Sebastian Albero and Antonio Soler (OK, Soler is Catalan). The notes call both "students" of Scarlatti, and to the degree that
both were probably among the copyists of the two main Scarlatti manuscripts, they were certainly familiar with Scarlatti's works.

This recording is as close as we'll ever get to the actual sounds of Domenico Scarlatti and his brilliant royal patron and student, Maria Barbara. In particular, the surprisingly strong bass of the Antunes instrument shows a different side to the supposedly treble-dominated Scarlatti sonatas. Edward Parmentier varies tempos with an almost 19th-century freedom, but he does keep the weight on the upbeat and play with clear articulation. Bravo!

Now for the down side--the repertory. I can see why Lodovico Giustini might have been included in this recording of what is arguably the best-preserved example of an 18th-century piano because he was the very first composer to call for "piano e forte" in his published music. But TWO sonatas by the decidedly lightweight Italian composer for nearly 26 minutes is hard to justify. And 9 minutes of Baldassare Galuppi? I'm a fan of Il Buranello, but this isn't his best work, and the otherwise peripatetic Venetian composer never set foot on the Iberian Peninsula.

Both the guitaristic Scarlatti sonatas are well-played, though K 28 is a bit slow. Of the rest, the Seixas 2-section sonata in F minor is especially good.

I wish this recording had more Seixas and Scarlatti and Soler and less of the rest, but the sound-quality and performance are truly 5 stars.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this is nice music, March 6, 2001

By 

newton fisher - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portuguese Fortepiano: 18th Century Iberian Keyboard Music / Parmentier (Audio CD)

This is pretty music. It sounds unusual. The instrument is played well. What more so you want?

Generally I can't figure any thing bad about this CD. The CD is 77 minutes and a few seconds long so your getting the music you pay for. The player knows what he is doing. I am giving this CD 5 stars.