Works for 2 Harpsichords by Richard Egarr / Patrick Ayrton

Various composers

Richard Egarr / Patrick Ayrton

Works for 2 Harpsichords

Price: € 19.95
Format: CD
Label: Globe
UPC: 8711525517905
Catnr: GLO 5179
Release date: 19 August 2002
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Label
Globe

UPC
8711525517905

Catalogue number
GLO 5179

Release date
19 August 2002

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

Two star harpsichordists have joined forces on this album in a program of seldom recorded pieces for two harpsichords. During the first half of the 18th century, performances on two harpsichords were a regular part of musical life, and the great composers enjoyed writing for this combination as can be deducted from their names in this program. Those pieces are also a great challenge to the performers because they require a maximum of technique and ensemble playing. Another element of this works is very much the idea of a 'duel' on harpsichords: "anything you can do, I can do better"... So it's up to the listener to decide who wins, and the answer to this question is not made any easier by the fact that the performers have swapped parts between pieces so that they remain 'masked' during the performances. The works are being performed on a matched pair of great sounding instruments by Joel Katzman, built after an original Ruckers harpsichord from 1628.

Twee beroemde klavecinisten gaan het duel aan
Twee beroemde klavecinisten, Richard Egarr en Patrick Ayrton, treden op dit album gezamenlijk op in een programma met zelden opgenomen werken voor twee klavecimbels. Tijdens de eerste helft van de 18e eeuw kwamen uitvoeringen op twee klavecimbels regelmatig voor in het muzikale leven. De grote componisten schreven met genoegen voor deze combinatie, zoals afgeleid kan worden uit de namen in dit programma. Deze werken vormen ook een grote uitdaging voor de uitvoerenden, omdat ze een maximum aan vaardigheden op het gebied van techniek en samenspel vereisen.

Een ander element van deze werken is het idee van een ‘duel’ op klavecimbels: Alles wat jij kan, kan ik beter… De luisteraar moet dus bepalen wie er wint. Het antwoord op deze vraag wordt er niet gemakkelijker op gemaakt door het feit dat de musici tussen de verschillende stukken door van partij wisselen, zodat ze tijdens de uitvoering ‘gemaskerd’ blijven.

De werken worden uitgevoerd op twee bijpassende en geweldig klinkende klavecimbels van Joel Katzman, naar een origineel instrument van Ruckers uit 1628.

Artist(s)

Patrick Ayrton

Patrick Ayrton divides his time between performance on a variety of keyboards and his work as a conductor. He currently teaches thorough-bass, chamber music and improvisation at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague. He has been a tutor for the European Union Baroque Orchestra audition courses and has given masterclasses at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Gnessin School in Moscow, the Yonsei University of Seoul, the Latvian Academy in Riga and the Summer School of the Salzburg Mozarteum. Patrick Ayrton is the central figure in a documentary film based on Tregian’s Ground, a prize-winning novel by the Swiss writer Anne Cuneo.
His association and collaboration with the Dutch conductor Arie van Beek has led him to develop his skills as a music director. In recent years, he has received invitations to conduct orchestras of repute such as the Orchestra of the Auvergne, the Chamber Academy of Potsdam, the Dijon-Bourgogne Orchestra, the Pasdeloup Orchestra in Paris, the Nordic Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), the Symphony Orchestra of Cannes, the Latvian Radio Choir, the Chamber Orchestra of Munich or the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra. Patrick Ayrton is also the founder of the Les Inventions, a period ensemble which explores uncharted 18th century repertoire, such as the works of Joseph Touchemoulin and Thomas Linley. Les Inventions work in close partnership with acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8.
Patrick Ayrton is also known for his pre-concert talks and is a regular lecturer. From 2004 to 2016, he was artistic director of the Bach en Combrailles Festival in France. In the season 2016-17, he conducted the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra in a cycle of 6 concerts featuring Baroque, Classical and Neo-Classical repertoire.

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Richard Egarr

Composer(s)

Johann Ludwig Krebs

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

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Johann Mattheson

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was a German keyboardist and composer. He was the oldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. He worked in Dresden, Halle, Braunschweig, and finally Berlin. He was regarded as one of the greatest organist of his time and is renowned for his organ improvisations. In Halle, the Wilhelm-Friedemann-Bach-Haus is named after him; a museum dedicated to him and six other composers of his time, in a house where he used to live. Wilhelm Friedemann's music shows the same 'architectual' proficiency known from his father, particular in his counter point. Moreover, he was looking for new ways of expression, with many mood swings and changes in rhythm, Wilhelm Friedemann was clearly an exponent of a new literal and...

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