Giustini: 12 Sonatas For Fortepiano / Andrea Coen
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- Brilliant Classics
- March 1, 2010
GIUSTINI Keyboard Sonatas: Nos. 1–12 • Andrea Coen (fp) • BRILLIANT 94021 (3 CDs: 176:32)
Lodovico Giustini (1685–1743) was born in the same year as Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti. But, whereas their music has remained firmly entrenched in many a musician’s active repertoire, Giustini’s has long faded into musical oblivion. He is, perhaps, best known as the composer of the works here, the 12 Sonate da Cimbalo di piano e forte, op. 1. These works have their importance, not only in their odd mixtures of Baroque traits and those of the then-developing g alant style, but also because they are the first known compositions written expressly for the fortepiano rather than the harpsichord—a distinction that was unique to them for decades to come, as they were some of the only works specifically designated for the instrument. The sonatas are similar to Baroque keyboard suites with alternating movements of slow and fast sections—mostly made up of dance-movements, though sometimes having movements classified by tempo markings. In addition, these works have some quirky in-between stylistic traits ranging from simple harmonies, florid figuration, and small, elegant phrases of the cantabiles to the more contrapuntally elaborate and “endless” melodic invention of the following movements (see for example the 12th sonata). Here and there, things resonate in one’s ear, allowing one to catch a glimpse of certain characteristics that were yet to come, but one never loses sight, completely, of the composer’s Baroque heritage. Andrea Coen, an organist, harpsichordist, and fortepianist, who has studied with such distinguished artists as Ton Koopman and Alan Curtis, and has collaborated with such figures as Christopher Hogwood and Monica Huggett, is a fine advocate for this music. He brings good taste and the elegance required for this music, while also maintaining a fine sense of the quirky rhythms and dramatic side (to fine effect, for example, in the opening movement of the first sonata). He never plays down those effects that Giustini specifically asks for in these works—those of dynamics, and specifically, the sudden contrasts from one extreme to the other. Though I think that this recording would appeal mostly to those interested in early keyboard music, at the bargain price (running from around $14 to $17 in my searches) for these three CDs, there’s no reason—at least financially—for one to stop oneself from giving this music a chance.
FANFARE: Scott Noriega
Product Description:
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Release Date: March 01, 2010
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UPC: 842977040210
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Catalog Number: BRI94021
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Label: Brilliant Classics
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Number of Discs: 3
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Composer: Lodovico, Giustini
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Performer: Andrea Coen