Search - Couperin, Rameau, Landowska :: Pieces Pour Clavecin / Suite in G Minor

56 Minutes of Enthralling Listening

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 09/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Not only did Wanda Landowska champion the playing of Bach's keyboard works on the harpsichord, but she also worked to resurrect the many long-forgotten keyboard suites and "ordres" by his French contemporaries Francois Couperin and Rameau. This welcome Sirio CD from Italy offers Landowska playing 20 pieces from these French composers. So easy on the ear is this fine Sirio transfer, you would never guess that it derives from crackling, wobbly old 78s made in Paris in 1934. The playing, of course, proclaims Landowksa in every bar, doing her best to bring these entertaining little pieces with their intriguing names vividly before a twentieth century listener. If you object to the means she uses - excessive use of 16 foot tone, or selecting a stop that produces staccato responses from one of the keyboards - then this is not for you. For me it provides 56 minutes of enthralling listening. I hope Sirio, an Italian label specialising in historical reissues, will give their attention now to the forty Scarlatti sonatas Landowska recorded in Paris between 1934 and 1939."