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Sweelinck: Keyboard Works / Vivanet
Piano Classics

Sweelinck: Keyboard Works / Vivanet

$21.99

Details

Composer
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Artist
Andrea Vivanet
Format
CD
Label
Piano Classics
Released
Mar 29, 2024
Catalog #
PCL10280
UPC
5029365102803

About

A young Italian virtuoso breathes new life into the ornate fantasies of a Dutch Baroque master.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) enjoyed a great reputation in his time that spread throughout northern Europe and Scandinavia. He attracted pupils from afar, Heinrich Scheidemann, Jacob Praetorius and Samuel Scheidt being the most famous. Sweelinck's influence can, therefore, be said to have reached Buxtehude and Bach through his teaching and compositions: He was not only the founder of the true fugue but a splendid player and teacher whose profound influence on northern European keyboard music particularly lasted long after his death.

Sweelinck's extant keyboard outputcomprises some 70 pieces, of which 14 are represented here in an original sequence of alternating toccatas, fantasias and variation sets. The precise instrument for which each of the pieces was written cannot always be determined with certainty. While the song variations suit either harpsichord or virginal, the fantasias and toccatas may well have been played on whatever keyboard instrument was to hand, including the organ.

Especially in his Variation pieces on popular songs such as ‘More Palatino’ and ‘Onder een linde groen’. Sweelinck shows himself as one of the supreme masters of the form. He retains the structure of his themes throughout each set, but his mastery and inventiveness is shown in the shaping of the inner structures of each variation. The complexity of polyphony can change overthe course of one single variation, and the sets as a whole make use of the whole spectrum of compositional structures, from the most plain to the most elaborate.

The Italian pianist Andrea Vivanet takes a historically informed approach to Sweelinck’s music on the piano. He incorporates graceful ornamentation, and stylistic features necessitated by the limits of early keyboards, but he also takes full advantage of the expressive and coloristic capabilities of the modern instrument. His previous recordings have displayed a refined and imaginative approach to 20th-century composers such as Ravel and Shostakovich, but Vivanet brings a welcome precision of touch to Sweelinck that makes him sound at home on the piano.

Tracklist 14 tracks

  1. 1 Toccata in Aeolian mode, SwWV 297 04:49
    Track
    1
    Title
    Toccata in Aeolian mode, SwWV 297
    Duration
    04:49
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  2. 2 Echo fantasia in Dorian mode, SwWV 261 03:03
    Track
    2
    Title
    Echo fantasia in Dorian mode, SwWV 261
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  3. 3 Toccata C2, SwWV 283 03:28
    Track
    3
    Title
    Toccata C2, SwWV 283
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  4. 4 Almande Gratie, SwWV 318, "More Palatino" 03:33
    Track
    4
    Title
    Almande Gratie, SwWV 318, "More Palatino"
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  5. 5 Toccata in G-Dorian mode, SwWV 292 02:34
    Track
    5
    Title
    Toccata in G-Dorian mode, SwWV 292
    Duration
    02:34
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  6. 6 Mein junges Leben hat ein End, SwWV 324 05:25
    Track
    6
    Title
    Mein junges Leben hat ein End, SwWV 324
    Duration
    05:25
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  7. 7 Toccata in Aeolian mode, SwWV 298 01:44
    Track
    7
    Title
    Toccata in Aeolian mode, SwWV 298
    Duration
    01:44
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  8. 8 Onder een linde groen (Unter der Linden grune), SwWV 325 04:53
    Track
    8
    Title
    Onder een linde groen (Unter der Linden grune), SwWV 325
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  9. 9 Toccata 9 Toni a 1, SwWV 296 04:04
    Track
    9
    Title
    Toccata 9 Toni a 1, SwWV 296
    Duration
    04:04
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  10. 10 Poolse almande, SwWV 330, "Soll es sein" 07:26
    Track
    10
    Title
    Poolse almande, SwWV 330, "Soll es sein"
    Duration
    07:26
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  11. 11 Toccata in Dorian mode, SwWV 286 03:21
    Track
    11
    Title
    Toccata in Dorian mode, SwWV 286
    Duration
    03:21
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  12. 12 Ballo del granduca, SwWV 319 04:27
    Track
    12
    Title
    Ballo del granduca, SwWV 319
    Duration
    04:27
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  13. 13 Toccata in Dorian mode, SwWV 285 02:58
    Track
    13
    Title
    Toccata in Dorian mode, SwWV 285
    Duration
    02:58
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet
  14. 14 Echo fantasia in Ionian mode, SwWV 253 07:33
    Track
    14
    Title
    Echo fantasia in Ionian mode, SwWV 253
    Duration
    07:33
    Composer
    Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
    Performer
    Andrea Vivanet