COMPOSERS: Couperin
LABELS: Accent
WORKS: Troisième livre de pièces de clavecin: Rossignol-en-amour; Les folies françoises
PERFORMER: Robert Kohnen (harpsichord)Barthold Kuijken (transverse flute)
CATALOGUE NO: ACC 9399 D DDD
These are captivating performances of Couperin’s delightful character pieces. Kohnen’s playing is elegant, stylish and playful, and, while his attention to detail is impeccable, he never loses sight of the music’s line. He is joined in several pieces by Barthold Kuijken, but the close perspective on his flute and a slightly plodding tempo turn Couperin’s Rossignol-en-amour into a rather ungainly bird; and the spoken declamation of the titles in Les folies françoises is distracting. Kate Bolton
Couperin: Troisième livre de pièces de clavecin: Rossignol-en-amour; Les folies françoises
These are captivating performances of Couperin’s delightful character pieces. Kohnen’s playing is elegant, stylish and playful, and, while his attention to detail is impeccable, he never loses sight of the music’s line. He is joined in several pieces by Barthold Kuijken, but the close perspective on his flute and a slightly plodding tempo turn Couperin’s Rossignol-en-amour into a rather ungainly bird; and the spoken declamation of the titles in Les folies françoises is distracting. Kate Bolton
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:08 pm