I'm not alone in this passion. Consistently over the years search engines have directed people to this blog in their searches for "D'Anglebert": it seems to be a top search item. There is even a D'Anglebert Facebook page, although it hasn't had a lot of activity lately. Perhaps the fans have been too busy enjoying a run of good recordings: Paolo Erdas, Laurent Stewart, and now JungHae Kim.
At first, I was dismayed when JungHae sent me her recent recording. I like her far too much to write anything less than positive things about her, but I also take my D'Anglebert too seriously to give a gratuitous endorsement. I have heard enough D'Anglebert recordings that don't delight, and therefore run the risk of giving the wrong first impression to the initiates. Should I quietly ignore this well-meaning opus, I wondered?
Fortunately, my concerns were for naught. JungHae is one of those sensitive harpsichordists who "gets it" with the genre, and the result is a sumptuous recording with an exquisite sound on a modern instrument (a model after Dumont by John Phillips). The acid test are the Préludes, which demand a intelligent rhapsody; you can't just play the notes, because without guidance, they are just a jumble.
JungHae's ornaments are free and flowing, sounding natural to the music and instrument. A danger for this music is that the ornaments become shrill, mechanical annoyances, rather than complementary embellishments.
The ultimate test and delight of the recording is her treatment of the Tombeau de Monsieur de Chambonnières. I don't know if Chambonnières deserved such an elegy: this is one of the five or six most moving pieces I know of, I think the piece I would want played at my memorial. It is a test of the player's passion and pathos. A good reading of this piece is probably the key to introducing people to the addiction that is D'Anglebert. JungHae's makes me want to weep: precisely the correct response.
