Harpsichord Music from the Reign of Louis XIV in Bloomington, MN

With the exceptions of
Louis Couperin
and
Jean-Baptiste Lully
, the latter represented by a short work that here receives its world-recorded premiere, the composers on this album may be known only to lovers of French Baroque keyboard music. Nevertheless, the album landed on classical best-seller charts in early 2025, and it was largely the efforts of harpsichordist
Sophie Yates
, by now perhaps the leading specialist in this repertory, that put it there. Her choice of harpsichord, a copy by
Andrew Garlick
of a double-manual 1681 Vaudry family instrument from Paris, is splendid, with imposing, sparkling power but delicacy enough to open up
Yates
' sensitive ornamentation. The program consists mostly of composers who formed the French harpsichord style, adapting it from various sources, including lute music, and who taught the more famous figures who came later on, in the last years of and after the reign of the Sun King.
is here, with a couple of pieces including a Tombeau to one of his predecessors, but so is his teacher, the elusive
Jacques Champion de Chambonnières
, a key figure in the style's evolution. Sample his compact
Chaconne
, in which he seems to revel in the harpsichord's new sonorities. The music is varied and includes representational pieces, although nothing like the hothouse depictions that were to come in the 18th century, and
comes up with convincing segues, a flexible feel in the dances, and a lot of fresh music. All on an instrument that gives one a remarkable feel of having been there in 1681. Recommended even for those not much oriented toward this repertory. ~ James Manheim