Superlative recording from the Master
Steven Guy | Croydon, South Australia | 11/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There are not enough favourable adjectives in the dictionary for this superb recording of harpsichord music from Weckman and Froberger. This recording is one of the finest in my collection and it is certainly a "desert island disc" for me.
Gustav Leonhardt's interpretation is subtle, expressive and often surprising! This is music that still excites me years after I bought this CD. It is one of the best recordings of harpsichord music I own.
The recording is clean and clear and natural. Often harpsichords are not well recorded and the results are sometimes a little less than perfect and the sound of the instrument is not always well captured by such recordings. This one is first class and should be considered by many music lovers.
I bought this recording for the Matthias Weckman (AKA "Weckmann"), I love the RICERCAR recording of all his cantatas, but the Froberger is fabulous, of course.
Please consider!"
Musical Competition in Dresden in the 1650's
Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 03/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Kurfürstliche Cembalomusik aus Dresden: Ein musikalisches Gipfeltreffen: Weckmann und Froberger [Harpsichord Music for the Elector of Dresden: A Musical Summit . Weckmann and Froberger]. Performed by Gustav Leonhardt, harpsichord. First published on Sony Classical in 1997. Also available as part of the 15-CD edition published by SonyBMG to celebrate Gustav Leonhardt's eightieth birthday.
Matthias Weckmann (1619 - 1674) was a pupil of Heinrich Schütz and of Jakob Praetorius and spent most of his life either in Dresden or Hamburg, except for a short period in Denmark where he escaped the ravages of the 30 Years War. He was a subtle user of couterpoint technique and a keyboard player of some renown in his day. During his third stay in Dresden after the end of the Thirty Years War he took part in a musical competition at the instigation of the Elector of Saxony (which was, in those days, an independent state). The other famous participant was the widely travelled Johann Jacob Froberger (1616 - 1667) whose works have been somewhat better served by the early music revival (with a major series by German harpsichordist Siegbert Rampe on Virgin and Dabringhaus + Grimm). On the Sony CD, Gustav Leonhardt recreates the atmosphere of this competition, devoting approx. 34 minutes to Weckmann and 30 to Froberger. He plays three pieces by Weckmann which are here denoted as [Suites], the brackets presumably indicating that they did not originally bear this title, and consisting of various dance movements as clear and fresh as anyone could desire. Then there are three lovely Weckmann toccatas and a Canzon of outstanding beauty. The Froberger section begins with his famous (and very mournful) Tombeau sur la mort de Mr. Blancrocher, at the end of which said gentleman tumbles down the stairs (which was actually how he died, and I would prefer this interpretation to the one which makes the descending notes bring his soul into hell!). This is followed by a [suite] (see above for the parentheses), a Capriccio, a lovely Ricercar and another [suite]. The difference between the two composers is obvious, even at first hearing: Weckmann's music is more complicated and seems a little more extroverted than Froberger's rather more meditative style. Unfortunately, my edition gives no details of the instrument used, but it sounds perfect for this music, with the Sony engineering absolutely impeccable. And I need not mention that Gustav Leonhardt is an ideal interpreter of such music - it is not an accident that he has been recording harpsichord music for over 50 years!"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1