Through many recordings, mainly during the CD era, fans of French Baroque harpsichord music have enjoyed the relatively small though incomparably rich and profoundly delicate oeuvre of Jean-Henri d’Anglebert. No composer of his generation more thoroughly explored the subtlety and nuance of the instrument’s sonorous and harmonic potential, and his table of ornamentation is recognized to be the most complete and influential in French keyboard repertoire.
On Disc 1 of this two-CD set harpsichordist Celine Frisch offers a near-complete performance of the First suite (she omits the final Gavotte and Menuet) and a complete Second suite (with an additional Passacaille), as well as eight of the composer’s transcriptions of orchestral interludes from operas composed by Lully, d’Anglebert’s friend and professional colleague. On Disc 2 the ensemble Café Zimmermann (of which Frisch is a founding member) performs 11 of Lully’s orchestral settings–including, for comparison, the eight that served as a basis for the transcriptions on Disc 1. Frisch concludes the program with d’Anglebert’s five brief though lovely fugues for organ.
Frisch delivers sensitive, intelligent, stylish performances throughout. I’ve previously been dazzled by her imaginative use of ornamentation in her Bach performances (type Q1511 and Q9026 in review search), though in this repertoire she especially shines. For example, her subtle rhythmic gradations in d’Anglebert’s transcription of Lully’s Chaconne de Phaeton are copious, yet they never obscure the contrapuntal clarity. Frisch’s enhancements of the inordinately diverse tempo fluctuations of the Ouverture de la Mascarade and the Passacaille d’Armide are equally well considered and inventive. For listeners who may be put off by Rousset’s heavy-handed relentlessness (Decca) or who think Ross (Erato) to be overly precious, Frisch may be just what you’ve been waiting for.
In the notes Marie Demeilliez observes that while Lully never composed for the harpsichord, he nevertheless became the most represented composer in French harpsichord repertoire because of at least 400 known transcriptions of some 200 of his works. D’Anglebert was responsible for the lion’s share of these transcriptions, and when comparing Frisch’s renderings to Café Zimmermann’s performances of Lully’s original orchestrations it becomes immediately apparent that d’Anglebert’s understanding went far beyond simply carrying the tune. He fully exploits the instrument’s technical and expressive potential, and with an interpreter of Frisch’s capabilities and imagination the performances leave little to be desired. To my knowledge, no soloist and ensemble have previously offered a comparison like this, and while certainly revealing, it’s another indication of how pre-classical music continues to be rethought, if not revolutionized by the current generation of performers. Alpha’s sound throughout is simply gorgeous. Frisch’s harpsichord is exceptionally clear and ambient, and Café Zimmermann sounds richly detailed yet maintains a full-bodied presence. In all, this is a stunning achievement that couldn’t be more highly recommended.
