Rousset Returns to Froberger

It has been a long while since I have purchased a solo harpsichord recording – or so it seems. I just didn't see anything that caught my fancy. Then lightning struck and I learned of three recordings that I had to have: two by Christophe Rousset and a third by Benjamin Alard.

I have been buying Rousset's recordings for literally decades. It is a little strange to see him in his latest photos: he has aged (well, matured), as have I. His latest photos better suggest his intensity.

His first Froberger recording, recorded over 13 years ago is one of those recordings that I find I like better when listening to it than as I remember it. That one doesn't stack up to Blandine Verlet's first Froberger recording, or even David Cate's: it is just a little short on passion and sound. (I don't know if anyone will ever be able to match Verlet's sound on the Colmar Ruckers, even though that recording is now old.)

Rousset has matured over the years. He seems to have increased in intensity, rather than passion, and his command of the meter is that of a dance master. Almost all recordings have improved over the last decade and this recording on the 1652 Couchet seems as true to real life as one could ask for: a real Flemish sound (even though it went through a French ravalément in 1701): there is a distinctly metallic sound that may be authentic, but which I find a little harsh. I fear I may prefer my Froberger on a less authentic instrument.

Rousset's program is very appealing. With the exception of Suite XII, the famous Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della real Maesta di Ferdinando IV, the suites are off the beaten track. Indeed, Suite II in D minor has always been a favorite of mine, perhaps because it is so idiomatic to the lute or even theorbo. I think Rousset's keen sense of dance gets in the way of Froberger's allemandes and laments, but are a revelation in the gigues and sarabandes. His closing track, the Sarabande of Suite XII is Rousset at his best.

Froberger wanted his manuscripts destroyed, in the belief that no one else could do his music justice. I keep reminding myself that I really don't want to hear a one "definitive" interpretation of any piece, but rather competing concepts that draw out different aspects of the music. This recording brings out the intelligence, intensity, and dance in Froberger. I'm grateful to have any new Froberger recording of this quality. For those who have not discovered Froberger, it is never too late.