William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, etc.

Perhaps the Elizabethan school of virginalists deserve a thread.
I found Byrd's complete keyboard works and like Moroney's set very much - dense otherwordly polyphony that fills the head, perfect music for meditation, or something like that.

 

Whatever they're virgin on, their choral stuff is great.

 

Yes, Moroney's Byrd cycle is a great achievement. Someone ought to do the same for John Bull, Mathias Weckmann, Buxtehude and many others, most of whom's harpsichord music is as well as unrecorded, compared to the fact that at least five (other than Ross') complete recordings of Scarlattis Sonatas are on the road.

 

I couldn't agree more! I do not like Scarlatti's frivolity - really I can't abide it. Whereas Weckmann, Ritter, the Iberian 16-17th Century composers are almost unkwnon.

That said, I also like Moroney's cycle. John Bull is fascinating, and I believe there is a good recording (by Asperen?). I actually own it, but I do not have it with me.

 

I couldn't disagree more about Scarlatti. How much of it have you heard - all 34 hours? Ross' cycle is a treasure.
John Bull: I once heard his stuff on the radio and it was great, but for some reason his music is indeed little recorded.
Any opinion on Soler?

 

Well, I think I just heard enough... I did play things he wrote, you know (oddly enough, I did so on the piano and organ, never on the harpsichord) So if I never listened to all I certainly listened well

Regarding Soler. Of course I do not like it. But there was an incredible record of Rafael Puyana in the three-manual Haas that was unbelievable: he went on, fast as hell, without a pause fore breathing. It just carried me away, in spite of the music!

The only Scarlatti I ever liked was by Dino Lipatti. Exactly as I only like Gluck played by Kempff.

And - behold - on the PIANO! I hate the knitting noise of brittle strings of the harpsichord playing Sarlatti :notworthy Fancy me disliking the harpsichord!!!
:mana:

 

Dear RdS,

That is indeed quite amazing. Perhaps you could try Pierre Hantai's two volumes of Scarlatti on Mirare; the two Italian harpsichords he uses sound quite beautiful. The playing is also exceptional.

However, I must admit that I do find Scarlatti less interesting than Bach, Froberger, the Couperins (Louis and Francois), d'Anglebert, Frescobaldi and even the somewhat similarly extroverted Rameau.

 

Some years ago (in the days of LP) I got a Scarlatti-period. I acquired many recordings of his sonatas and played some of them myself (on the piano). Maybe I got to know ca. 200 of them. But suddenly I reached a state, where another Scarlatti sonata didn't bring anything new at all, and his superficial effect-searching style started to irritate me. So I gave the Scarlatti LPs away and I almost haven't heard a Scarlatti sonata ever since, except for parts of the Scott Ross set, of which which I recently by chance acquired a sampler. I have to say, that I find Scott Ross' Scarlatti style stiff and boring. In my view, it is sad, that so many harpsichordists care to release complete Scarlatti sets, when so much other baroque harpsichord music awaits recording.

 

Marvellous Gibbons record: