Tilman Skowroneck writes: "This recording was initiated by Bengt Nassen, the owner of the harpsichord by Martin Skowroneck (1926-2014) that is featured here. Initially, I was planning to play music by Bach and Handel on this German instrument, which is based on early eighteenth-century models, but after acquainting myself with the instrument's possibilities, I was led in a different direction. It's sound is located somewhere between Italian brilliance and a more intimate vocal character. Some French builders of the seventeenth century made instruments whose characteristics were quite similar, even though they arrived at these results by different constructions. And so the idea was born to use this sound to retrace the connections between the Italian and French sound worlds of the late seventeenth century." Tilman Skowroneck was born in Bremen in 1959 and studied harpsichord in The Hague and Amsterdam. After his studies he established himself as a freelance harpsichordist in Germany and Holland. Since 1996, Tilman Skowroneck has participated at various early piano seminars at the University of Gothenburg and the Gothenburg organ centre GOArt. He is currently senior lecturer for musical performance at the Academy of Music and Drama, University of Gothenburg.