Early keyboard music

The musical success of any CD recording depends on a number of factors. First, the quality of the composition itself plays a significant role. Then there is the contribution of the performer; the music of, for example, J. S. Bach is an oft-cited instance of sheer quality which can survive, even shine through the most abysmal of reproductive media, mobile ringtones excluded. By corollary, 'lesser' composers require more input from the performer. Aside from these two important elements, the quality of the instrument used can sometimes decide whether the CD gets more than one hearing; this is probably more relevant in the field of early music than in the mainstream classical world, although pianists will no doubt defend hotly the differences between various Steinways. The temperament used in a particular keyboard recording can add to, or detract from, its overall impact. Last, but by no means least, the skill and sensitivity of the recording engineer coupled with the recording environment can make or break a performance. Happy indeed the CD which achieves five stars in all these categories.

This train of thought was initially provoked on my listening to the first of a proposed complete recording of all the surviving sonatas by Carlos de Seixas, played by Débora Halász, Seixas: Sonatas—1 (Naxos 8.557459, rec 2003, 71'). Seixas is often compared with his more famous contemporary Domenico Scarlatti. This is unfortunate, for if the comparison is consciously made, one is hard pushed not to concede that the latter is a better composer. The music certainly has many features in common, but Scarlatti's sheer inventiveness and the lyricism in his slow movements are to my mind absent in Seixas. Like Scarlatti, Seixas was a prolific writer; before his untimely death at the age of 38 he had reputedly penned some 700 sonatas, most of which have been lost, possibly in the Lisbon earthquake of 1755. Even without recourse to the booklet text it was clear to me that the Brazilian performer Débora Halász is a recent convert from the piano world; most ornaments and much arpeggiation are played before the beat and there is a predilection for extremely fast tempi, but she has a secure and impressive keyboard technique. It is very difficult not to compare this recording with some Scarlatti recordings of the 1960s, which were generally characterized by the use of 'revival' harpsichords, with four or five rows of jacks with leather plectra serviced by a row of pedals. The harpsichord on this recording is similar but with major differences; it is clearly a fine copy of the 1734 Hass (the booklet erroneously gives 'Haas') made by Lutz Werum, with two 8' registers, 4', 16', lute stop and buff register. Leaving aside the question of suitability for this particular repertory, one has to concede that the sound of such an instrument is ravishing. However, I found the CD exhausting to listen to; barely a phrase passes without a stop being added or removed and no echo slips by without the moment being marked by a manual or register change. Halász even achieves the illusion of a crescendo in track 11, and the 16' register is generally never far away. If the instrument is without pedals, then surely someone was at hand to help with registration during the recording.

A very different aural picture is presented on another Naxos release, Philips: Harpsichord works (Naxos 8.557864, rec 2005, 78'), played by Elizabeth Farr. The instrument used is the 1658 Jerome de Zentis, formerly in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, but now in the custodianship of the restorer, Keith Hill. It has been painstakingly and thoughtfully restored; a detailed report can be found on the website www.keithhillharpsichords. com/1658dezentis.html, complete with sound samples and pictures. The harpsichord sounds very special; its lute-like quality is enhanced by the register not in use being undamped, which lends a magical shimmer to the music. Farr is a sensitive performer and plays with great freedom, although for my taste in rather a mannered way; seldom are two notes played together, which tends to undermine...