Rameau: Pièces de Clavecin, Volume 1

Rameau: Pièces de Clavecin, Volume 1

£12.99
Total playing time [79:27]

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Steven Devine (harpsichord)

The celebrated harpsichordist Steven Devine makes his Resonus debut with the first of three significant volumes surveying the keyboard works of the French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764).

A vital milestone in the harpsichord repertoire, Devine here presents the first two books of Rameau's Pièces de Clavecin - the 1706 Premier Livre de Pièces de Clavecin and the 1724 Pièces de Clavessin. Ranging from the more traditional dance movements of the earlier book to the sophisticated and forward-looking character pieces of the second book, Rameau's solo keyboard works always present a rich feast for the ear. 

Released in the 250th anniversary of the composer's death, Devine performs on a copy by Ian Tucker of an instrument by Andreas Ruckers (1636) with ravalement by Henri Hemsch (1763). 

Album Booklet (PDF)

Tracklist

Suite in A minor
1. Prélude
2. Allemande I
3. Allemande II
4. Courante
5. Gigue
6. Sarabande I & II
7. Vénitienne
8. Gavotte
9. Menuet

Suite in E minor
10. Allemande
11. Courante
12. Gigue en rondeau I
13. Gigue en rondeau II
14. Le Rappel des Oiseaux
15. Rigaudon I & II (with double)
16. Musette en rondeau
17. Tambourin
18. La Villageoise (Rondeau)

Suite in D minor/major
19. Les Tendres Plaintes (Rondeau)
20. Les Niais de Sologne (with 2 doubles)
21. Les Soupirs
22. La Joyeuse (Rondeau)
23. La Follette (Rondeau)
24. L'Entretien des Muses
25. Les Tourbillons (Rondeau)
26. Les Cyclopes (Rondeau)
27. Le Lardon
28. La Boiteuse

Menuet en rondeau

“

'[Devine] is authoritative, suave, technically dazzling and delivers immaculately manicured ornaments that lend brilliance and expressive introspection when required [...] an invigorating addition to the Rameau year. Roll on volumes two and three!'

- BBC Music Magazine (Five stars)

'[Devine] is authoritative, suave, technically dazzling and delivers immaculately manicured ornaments that lend brilliance and expressive introspection when required [...] an invigorating addition to the Rameau year. Roll on volumes two and three!'
BBC Music Magazine (Five stars, performance & sound)

'[The harpsichord's] sonoroities are clear and penetrating yet never strident, and lend themselves both to the music and and to Devine's meticulous technique [...] The recorded ambience is clear and discreetly resonant.'
Gramophone

'Devine embraces the elusive (and allusive) sensibility of the clavecinists in style: he is authoritative, suave, technically dazzling and delivers immaculately manicured ornaments that lend brilliance and expressive introspection where required.'
Classical Music Magazine (Five stars, performance & recording)

'Devine is an original performer [...] The musical result is perfect, transparent, crystal-clear'
gbopera.it

'I’m pleased to see not only that [Devine] has turned his attention to Rameau but that this is billed as Volume 1 of an ongoing series [...] you can hardly go wrong'
MusicWeb International

'Steven Devine’s approach is muscular and the sound large and often bold.'
Lark Reviews

Credits
© 2014 Resonus Limited
Ⓟ 2014 Resonus Limited
Catalogue No. RES10131
Producer, engineer & editor: Adam Binks
EAN: 5060262790335
Cover image: Harpsichord detail © Resonus Limited