Customer Reviews

Scarlatti: Duende

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

 

 

Skip Sempe has collaborated with some like-minded folks to start a new early-music label, centered on himself, his various ensembles, and talented young soloists. There are already ten releases in the can, evidently, because the Scarlatti recital comes with a sampler disc from ten releases. However, so far, only the Scarlatti is available in the U.S. The Telemann disc (enticing excerpts on the sampler disc) will be released in the US in February.
Best to wait for US releases, since purchase from the Paradizo website requires an outlay of 20 euros per disc, but the US release prices are typical for a full-price line. I saw the Scarlatti in a retail store this week, after receiving my mail order copy.
The Scarlatti recital is excellent. Sempe presents 17 sonatas, involving a second harpsichordist and instrument to add weight and volume at appropriate moments - a neat solution to some of the limitations of variety in harpsichord sound. There is a nice contrast of styles in the Sonatas, and Sempe plays with real dramatic flair and insight.

The amazon list of performers and the 'samples' presented on this page, as of April 28, 2009, have NOTHING to do with this performance of D Scarlatti's harpsichord sonatas. That should be obvious at first glance but hey, who knows?
I haven't heard the Sempe performance yet; my five-stars rating is purely conjectural.