Christophe Rousset ~ D'Anglebert - Complete Harpsichord Works (World Premiere Recording)
Jean-Henri D'Anglebert, who replaced the great Chambonnieres as royal harpsichord teacher to the court of Louis XIV, was one of the finest French composers of keyboard music in the last half of the 17th century. The music on this CD, which was taken from D'Anglebert's 1689 bookPièces de Clavecin, consists of six suites of instrumental dances, such as the gavotte, the gigue, and the sarabande. The G Minor suite includes some variations on themes by Lully. Christophe Rousset, regarded as one of the most sensitive interpreters of 17th-century harpsichord music, does a magnificent job of bringing this music to life. Even on the most technically demanding passages, he never succumbs to mere virtuosity. Rousset always places his formidable technique at the service of the music. An interesting historical note: Rousset used a 1624 Johannes Ruckers harpsichord that used to belong to the family of the Marquis de Sade.--Michael Simmons