ENGLISH HARPSICHORD MUSIC OF THE RESTORATION. Arthur Haas, harpsichord.

Description

“Arthur Hass gives a beautiful recital of music from the age of Purcell. A sensitive and rigorous performer, Hass endows his interpretations with the necessary level of musicological coherence and at the same time a lyricism, clarity, and vitality capable of seducing a wide audience.”

–Josep Pascual, Goldberg

“…an unexpected delight.”

–FF, Gramophone

Of all the composers recorded on this disc, Henry Purcell (1659-95) is probably the one who most successfully forged the amazing cosmopolitan variety of musical styles during the Restoration into a powerful synthesis. Yet the other and much lesser known works on this program go a long way in establishing a fuller picture of the Restoration Era in all of its wonderful, contradictory diversity. The American harpsichordist, Arthur Haas was for many years a resident of France where he became professor of harpsichord and Baroque performance practice at L’Ecole nationale de Musique in Agouleme in 1979. He concertized widely in Europe and the United States both as a soloist and as a member of the Five Centuries Ensemble. This ensemble produced a ground-breaking six-record set of Italian 17th century vocal and instrumental music including music by Monteverdi, A. Scarlatti, Frescobaldi, and others, between 1979 and 1983. His recent solo CDs of music by Jean-Henry D’Anglebert and Forqueray have been widely acclaimed. Mr. Haas is currently teaching at the Eastman School of Music at SUNY Stony Brook, and at Mannes. The harpsichord used in this recording was built by John Phillips, Berkeley, California, in 1993, after 18th century Florentine prototypes; it was tuned in various period tunings used during the Restoration Period.

Froberger’s Suite in d; Locke Suites in C and D; Purcell Suite No. 6 in D, Ground in C, Suite in g, and A New Ground; Draghi Suite in b; Croft Suite in d, Ground in c, and Chaconne in a. Arthur Haas, Harpsichord. Total time: Total time: 72:40. [DDD] UPC #0-17685-09982