Louis Couperin: Complete Keyboard Works
Richard Egarr (harpsichord) (A) Joel Katzman, Amsterdam, 1991, after Ruckers, Antwerp, 1638 (B) Joel Katzman, 1995, after an anonymous original (probably Jacquet), Paris, 1652 Pitch: a’ = 398 Hz / Temperament: ‘ordinaire’ (quarter-comma meantone) Performing edition prepared by Richard Egarr. The...
Egarr makes a fervent advocate for Louis Couperin, whom he believes to be 'the greatest composer for the harpsichord of all time'...Egarr, immersed in this repertoire for years, rises to the...
Louis Couperin: Complete Keyboard Works
Richard Egarr (harpsichord) (A) Joel Katzman, Amsterdam, 1991, after Ruckers, Antwerp, 1638 (B) Joel Katzman, 1995, after an anonymous original (probably Jacquet), Paris, 1652 Pitch: a’ = 398 Hz / Temperament: ‘ordinaire’ (quarter-comma meantone) Performing edition prepared by Richard Egarr. The...
Purchase product
Egarr makes a fervent advocate for Louis Couperin, whom he believes to be 'the greatest composer for the harpsichord of all time'...Egarr, immersed in this repertoire for years, rises to the...
About
Hailed for his “revelatory” account of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier (The New York Times), Richard Egarr turns to one of the least known collections for solo harpsichord. This complete recording of the solo oeuvre of Louis Couperin (c.1626-1661) revels in his full harmonic and contrapuntal textures, marked by a poignant use of dissonance – music that entrances the ear!
Richard Egarr Richard Egarr trained as a choirboy at York Minster, at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester and as organ scholar at Clare College Cambridge. His studies with Gustav and Marie Leonhardt further inspired his work in the field of historical performance.
Music Director of the Academy of Ancient Music since 2006 and a regular guest director with such other ensembles as Handel and Haydn Society and Tafelmusik, he is increasingly sought-after by non-period orchestras in a broad range of repertoire from Monteverdi to Mendelssohn. The Handel and Bach oratorios lie at the heart of his repertoire,and he has a growing reputation in the operatic field. Richard Egarr records exclusively for harmonia mundi USA where his solo output comprises works by Frescobaldi, Gibbons, Couperin, Purcell, Froberger, Mozart and J. S. Bach (Goldberg Variations and Well-Tempered Clavier). He has an impressive list of award-winning recordings with Andrew Manze, including sonatas by Bach, Biber, Rebel, Pandolfi, Corelli, Handel, Mozart and Schubert. With the Academy of Ancient Music he has recorded J. S. Bach’s harpsichord concertos and Brandenburg Concertos.
In Handel year 2009 they completed a 7-CD series of Handel discs including the Concerti grossi Op.3 which won a Gramophone Award.
Artists
Richard Egarr (harpsichord) (A) Joel Katzman, Amsterdam, 1991, after Ruckers, Antwerp, 1638 (B) Joel Katzman, 1995, after an anonymous original (probably Jacquet), Paris, 1652 Pitch: a’ = 398 Hz / Temperament: ‘ordinaire’ (quarter-comma meantone) Performing edition prepared by Richard Egarr. The numbering corresponds to Bruce Gustafson’s catalogue of works by Louis Couperin.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
November 2011
Egarr makes a fervent advocate for Louis Couperin, whom he believes to be 'the greatest composer for the harpsichord of all time'...Egarr, immersed in this repertoire for years, rises to the challenge with playing that is by turns pliant, poetic and balletic...Both [instruments] use a genuine quill plectrum, which produces a silky, singing tone. The recording is detailed and subtly reverberant.
December 2011
there are two compelling reasons to own this set: it is endlessly entertaining and vibrant music; and, with the exception of a handful of movements not available to the player, it is presented compelte. Louis Couperin deserves the honour of a new, meticulously performed and recorded complete edition, and lovers of the harpsichord repertoire shouldn't be without one.
January 2012
Egarr's phrasing, though always very characterful, sometimes seems a little too gangling and awkwardly bunched...However, this really only affects the unmeasured preludes...Egarr's refined yet colourful approach to the rest of the music, especially the grave and cerebral allemandes...is irreproachable. As a whole, my minor reservations notwithstanding, this recording is both a magnificent achievement and a profoundly pleasurable experience.
28th July 2011
Egarr revels in the variety, both harmonic and rhythmic, that this music contains, and the interpretative opportunities it offers. I don't think anyone, even Egarr, would suggest listening to all four of these CDs at a single sitting, but in smaller portions they are genuinely exhilarating and constantly surprising.
