Above everything else, Richard Egarr wants to make his harpsichord sing, to let its ringing tones and majestic sonorities sculpt a legato line similar to the sound of the human voice. While this may seem an unlikely if not altogether impossible goal given the plucked and struck harpsichord's justified reputation as a keyboard instrument with little or no sustaining capability, Egarr does come close to his goal in this recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations coupled with his Goldberg Canons. The tonal opulence of his ...
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Above everything else, Richard Egarr wants to make his harpsichord sing, to let its ringing tones and majestic sonorities sculpt a legato line similar to the sound of the human voice. While this may seem an unlikely if not altogether impossible goal given the plucked and struck harpsichord's justified reputation as a keyboard instrument with little or no sustaining capability, Egarr does come close to his goal in this recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations coupled with his Goldberg Canons. The tonal opulence of his harpsichord, a splendid copy of an earlier instrument re-voiced with seagulls' quills and re-tuned in a system with distinctly warmer overtones, is only part of the reason; the greater part is Egarr's touch, his technique, and his interpretations. His touch is less an attack and more of a caress. His technique is virtuosic but never obvious. His interpretations, while intellectually bracing, are also emotionally affecting, balancing the rigor of his canons with the sorrows of his adagios...
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Add this copy of Bach: Goldberg Variations to cart. $52.45, new condition, Sold by Griffin Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Stamford, CT, UNITED STATES, published 2006 by HARMONIA MUNDI.