Fernando De Luca - Dufour: Pièces de Clavecin (2023) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: I. Prélude
02. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: II. Allemande
03. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: III. Air en chœur
04. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: IV. La vielle
05. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: V. Menuet (I)
06. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: VI. Musette
07. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: VII. Badine
08. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: VIII. Sarabande
09. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: IX. Courante
10. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: X. Les forgeronts
11. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XI. Gigue (I)
12. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XII. Les colombes
13. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XIII. Gigue (II)
14. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XIV. Menuet (II)
15. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XV. Petitte ariette
16. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XVI. Menuet (III)
17. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XVII. La majestueuse
18. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XVIII. Petitte sarabande
19. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XIX. Menuet (IV)
20. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XX. Menuet 1er (V)
21. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXI. l'Itallienne
22. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXII. Marche
23. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXIII. Menuet 2me (VI)
24. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXIV. La triomphante
25. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXV. La melodieuse
26. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXVI. Allemande
27. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXVII. Gigue - Suitte de la chasse
28. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXVIII. Les scithes
29. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXIX. La plaintive
30. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXX. Les matelots
31. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXXI. Menuet (VII)
32. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XXXII. La sincere
33. Concerto in B-Flat Major: I. Allegro
34. Concerto in B-Flat Major: II. Andante molto
35. Concerto in B-Flat Major: III. Gigue, presto
36. Concerto in E-Flat Major: I. Allegro
37. Concerto in E-Flat Major: II. Aria
38. Concerto in E-Flat Major: III. Presto
39. Pièces de clavecin, Op. 1: XL. Carillon

An obscure corner of the French Baroque illuminated: the only available recording of the sole extant collection by a Parisian organist and composer.
About Pierre-Thomas Dufour, almost nothing is now known for certain beyond his death in Paris, on 30 December 1786, and the publication in 1770 of this collection of harpsichord pieces bearing his name. He probably wrote a good deal else, both for harpsichord and organ, given that the title page of the collection informs us that Dufour was organist of the Eglise de Saint-Jean-en-Grève and the Eglise Saint-Laurent, both in Paris.
The collection is divided between dances (gigues, courantes, allemandes and musettes), and stylised evocations indicated by their titles after the fashion of Couperin: ‘The Blacksmiths’, ‘The Doves’ and so on. In his booklet essay, the harpsichordist Fernando De Luca observes that these tone-poems are no less vividly coloured and dramatized than contemporary canvases by Boucher and Watteau.
There are also two self-contained solo concertos for the instrument, in B flat and E flat major. Cast in the conventional three movements, the concertos share a grandeur of spirit with the more stately of the individual pieces such as ‘La Triomphante’ and ‘La Sincere’. Despite his obscurity, there is no reason to regard Dufour as a ‘lesser’ composer on the evidence of this slender collection, especially now that it is recorded in its entirety. A portrait emerges through it of Dufour himself, as a cultivated and cosmopolitan musician, well aware of contemporary trends not only in French music but further abroad, especially in the Italianate dash of the two concertos. The collection closes with a spectacular Carillon in imitation of the church-bells which rang throughout Paris (and every other European city) on the quarter-hour.
Fernando De Luca has accumulated an impressive discography for Brilliant Classics, including substantial and equally pioneering sets of the complete harpsichord music by Christoph Graupner (96131) and Christophe Moyreau (96285). ‘There is much to admire about this recording project… a monumental enterprise… [listeners will admire] both Graupner’s and De Luca’s facility, being rewarded with some attractive music confidently delivered.’ (Early Music Review)

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac]

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [Hi-Res]