Johann Jacob Froberger - Ou l'Intraquillite - Blandine Verlet

 

Release Date: July 1, 2003 Label: Astree Number of discs: 1 Composer: Johann J. Froberger Performer: Blandine Verlet cd info/ buy

Review:

Though little of his music was published in his lifetime, Froberger was very influential through posthumous prints and manuscript copies; his fusion of Frescobaldi 's Italianate idiom with the French style of the era served as a model for many later German keyboard composers. His frequent designation as creator of the standardized suite must be questioned, however; the autograph manuscripts of his suites generally make the sarabande the last dance, with the gigue taking this position only in prints dating from the 1690s. His works, almost all for keyboard, reflect his mixed musical heritage: his partitas, capriccios, ricercars, and toccatas (some alla levatione for use in the liturgy) are in a style close to Frescobaldi's, while his suites and programmatic works (including several moving tombeaux) are based on the French usage. To the sensitive listener Froberger's ultimate claim to greatness rests primarily on his capacity to convey to us the intense emotions that he was able to express in a few bars lasting but a moment or two. In this sense he was truly unique.

 

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Froberger - Suites & Toccatas – Rousset

Froberger lived and flourished in the mid-17th century, and he was one of the first great German composers of keyboard music. But although his nationality was German, his style was more or less formed and influenced by the Italian school--Frescobaldi in particular. It's a fascinating fact, but you can get through a lot of music history up to the 19th century if you look at it as a series of ideas originating in Italy, further developed by composers in Germany and France. All of these pieces are short, striking, and full of original ideas. This was one of Christophe Rousset's earlier recordings for Harmonia Mundi, and it established him at once as an artist to be reckoned with. Good stuff. --David Hurwitz

CD INFO

Flac, cover

Froberger - Pieces De Clavessin - David Cates, Harpsichord

Froberger - Pieces De Clavessin - David Cates, Harpsichord
Soloist | Eac, flac, cue | log, cover | 1 CD, 400 MB
July 21, 1998 | Wildboar | RapidShare

On his first CD recording, David Cates displays remarkable mastery of Froberger's elusive, enigmatic style. Cates's rhythm and emotional energy flow together in great surges of color, thought and feeling. Froberger's genius lay in fusing the impulsiveness and brilliance of the Italian creative spirit with the dark melancholia of the Germans, and Cates is more than capable of conveying this paradox. This is a moving and mature performance that leaves the listener wondering how it is that Mr Cates has not been heard on disc before.

Two harpsichords are used; both Italians. One, after a seventeenth century original by Giusti, has the classic Italian sound: clear yet dark and deep, low tension at its best, with lots of color and sonic interest. The other by Curtis Berak, follows principles and measurements gleaned from a variety of the earliest examples of the harpsichord. Characteristically of Berak's work, the sound is darker still and more complex, filled with rumors and innuendo- conversations from the next room, not quite discernable, lurk just beneath the surface of the sound.


Short bio

David Cates (Harpsichord)

Born: 1958 -New York, NY, USA

The American harpsichordist, David Cates, studied piano, counterpoint, music and tuning theory in Chicago with Easley Blackwood, and piano in New York with Jacob Lateiner. Though largely self-taught on the harpsichord he has studied privately with Edward Parmentier and Roger Goodman.

David Cates

David Cates is rapidly becoming recognized as one of today's most unique and important artists performing on the harpsichord. His playing has been described by critics as unique, sensual, brilliant, moving, revealing, honest, and always emotionally connected to the music he performs. His solo recordings on the Wildboar label of Froberger and J.S. Bach have met with widespread critical acclaim. The 2002 Classical Music Listener's Companion calls him one of the 20 most important harpsichordists available on recordings today; "an unusual interpreter" and an "outstanding talent". He is perhaps the only harpsichordist to have also played the entire Schubert lieder opus, as well as Charles Ives' Concord Sonata.

David Cates performs both internationally and within the USA, primarily as a soloist. Based in Berkeley, California, he is also the co-leader of the baroque ensemble Chiaroscuro, along with the well-known baroque violinist and erstwhile duo partner Elizabeth Blumenstock.

CD Content
# Partita (No.30), for keyboard in A minor, for keyboard, FbWV 630 Plainte pour passer la Mélancholie
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Toccata (No.9), for keyboard in C major, FbWV 109
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Lamentation-faite sur la mort très douloureuse de sa Majesté Impériale, Ferdinand III, for keyboard in F major, FbWV 633
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Toccata (No.10), for keyboard in F major, FbWV 110
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Partita (No.12) "Lamento sopra la dolorosa", for keyboard in C major, FbWV 612/612a
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Tombeau fait à Paris sur la mort de Monsieur Blancrocher, for keyboard in C minor, FbWV 632
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Toccata (No.12), for keyboard in A minor, FbWV 112
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Lamentation-faite sur la mort très douloureuse de sa Majesté Impériale, Ferdinand III, for keyboard in F major, FbWV 633
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Partita (No.18), for keyboard in G minor, FbWV 618
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Toccata (No.3), for keyboard in G major, FbWV 103
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Partita (No.20), for keyboard in D major, FbWV 620
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates

# Partita (No.29), for keyboard in E flat major, FbWV 629 nova
Composed by Johann Jacob Froberger
with David Cates