Gradus ad Parnassum

by Jean Rondeau

Overview

It is a bit hard to pin down exactly what the appropriately named harpsichordist Jean Rondeau is after with this album of harpsichord music that mostly wasn't written for the harpsichord. PR claims that Gradus ad Parnassum "sensitizes us to what repertoire written for the piano can reveal about the harpsichord -- and to what the harpsichord can reveal about repertoire written for the piano," while elsewhere, Rondeau offers various philosophico-chronological reflections. He does seem to be suggesting that composers as far forward in time as Debussy had the harpsichord in their heads, directly or indirectly, as a kind of sonic ideal. This is debatable, especially in Debussy's case, but Rondeau successfully picks music that refers back to the Baroque, and in some cases, including that of Debussy, to the instructional works by Johann Joseph Fux published under the name Gradus ad Parnassum ("Steps to Parnassus"). Probably the best way to hear the album is simply as a fantasy, as music that uses the harpsichord to elaborate on compositions of various kinds. These include a pair of pre-harpsichord keyboard pieces attributed to Palestrina that frame the program. The rarely heard pair of Preludes by Beethoven were Bachian exercises from his teenage years. There are two imposing works from Fux himself that are worth the listener's time, and a pair of pieces from a Gradus ad Parnassum collection of piano pieces by Muzio Clementi. The Mozart Fantasia in D minor, K. 397, works effectively as a big Baroque quasi-improvisatory piece, and the harpsichord was not too far in the rearview mirror when Haydn composed his Piano Sonata in A flat major, Hob. 16/46. Some pieces work better than others here, but the album is never less than listenable, with booming sound from the Salle de Musique at La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	04/21/2023
Label:	ERATO
UPC:	5054197416170

Tracks

1. Ricercar del primo tuono
2. Harpeggio and Fuga in G major~Harpeggio
3. Keyboard Sonata (Divertimento) in A flat Hob.XVI:46~I. Allegro moderato
4. Keyboard Sonata (Divertimento) in A flat Hob.XVI:46~II. Adagio
5. Keyboard Sonata (Divertimento) in A flat Hob.XVI:46~III. Finale Presto
6. Gradus ad Parnassum, Op. 44~No. 45 in C minor, Andante malinconico
7. 2 Preludes, Op. 39: No. 2 in C major
8. Children's Corner L.119 (113)~No. 1 Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum
9. Prelude in F minor WoO 55
10. Gradus ad Parnassum Op. 44~Studio No. 14 in F (Adagio sostenuto)
11. Fantasia No. 3 in D minor K.397
12. Piano Sonata No. 16 in C K.545~II. Andante
13. Ciaccona in D K.403/2
14. Ricercar del secondo tuono

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jean Rondeau   Primary Artist,Harpsichord

Technical Credits

Chloe Humphreys   Cover Photo
Ludwig van Beethoven   Composer
Claude Debussy   Composer
Muzio Clementi   Composer
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina   Composer
Johann Joseph Fux   Composer
Alain Lanceron   Executive Producer
Jonte Knif   Harpsichord Maker
Arno Pelto   Harpsichord Maker
Aline Blondiau   Mixing,Editing,Producer,Mastering
Jean Rondeau   Liner Notes,Transcription
Pauline Chassain   Collage,Graphic Design
Ray Granlund   Liner Notes
Florian Donati   Harpsichord Tuner
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart   Composer
Franz Joseph Haydn   Composer