Keyboard Music 3
Angela Hewitt is best known for her excellent Bach recordings, but in her less-comprehensive series of Couperin's works written for the harpsichord she matches that high standard. Fans of the French Baroque will know this music and may need to adjust to the sound of the piano. But the open-minded will be captivated by her buoyant playing and by her refusal to imitate the harpsichord. Instead, she brings the resources of the modern concert grand to bear on these stylized scores--"authenticity" becomes irrelevant to the immense pleasure generated. Hewitt's ornamentation is stylishly convincing, as is her wit, attention to detail, and beautiful tonal production. She plays all of the Treizième Ordre and a generous selection of pieces from Couperin's other works, focusing on those she believes work best on the piano. The captivating result makes one sorry that, as she writes in her lucid notes, this will be the last of her Couperin series. Hyperion's vibrant sound does full justice to Hewitt's colorful playing.-- Dan Davis